Download VERTEBRATE SCAVENGER HUNT

Name: ___________________________________________ Period ______________ Date: ________________
VERTEBRATE SCAVENGER HUNT (pages 374-436)
Kingdom ____________________ Phylum ___________________ Subphylum _____________________
A vertebrate is _________________________________________________________.
All members of phylum Chordata share the following three characteristics at some point in
their lives:
1 ________________________ 2 ___________________________ 3 _______________________
Directions: In this activity you will identify the vertebrates from least complex to most complex. You will read
the important characteristics and identify the animal’s class, as well as several examples.
Class
(Common Name)
________________________
________________________
(Cartilaginous Fish)
________________________
(Bony Fish)
________________________
Important Characteristics of
Vertebrates
No scales
Skeleton made of cartilage
Ectotherm
Do not have paired fins
Mouth has no jaws; have structures for
stabbing, scrapping and sucking for food
Body covered by scales
Skeleton made of cartilage
Ectotherm
Have paired fins
Have jaws
Breathe by gills
Carnivores
Live in the ocean (salt water)
Body covered by scales
Skeleton made of bone
Ectotherm
Have paired fins
Have jaws
Breathe by gills
Some omnivores, some carnivores
Has a swim bladder (gas-filled sac) stabilizes
them at different water levels
Live in both salt and freshwater
Ectotherm
Thin, moist skin
Most carry out metamorphosis
(ex: Tadpoles develop into Frogs)
Breathe by gills as a tadpole; by lungs/skin as
an adult
External (frog/toad) or internal(salamander)
fertilization
Lay soft-shelled eggs in water (protects the egg
from drying out & infection)
Strong skeleton & muscular limbs are adapted
for life on land
Some herbivores; Some carnivores
Examples
(Name and/or Picture)
Class
(Common Name)
________________________
________________________
(Birds)
________________________
DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS:
(based on how their young
develop)
Important Characteristics of Vertebrates
Ectotherm
Three-chambered heart (Crocodile has a fourchambered hear)
Dry, scaly skin
Breathe by lungs
Lay hard-shell eggs on land (protects the egg from
drying out & protect developing embryo)
First vertebrates that were well adapted to life on
land
Eggs, skin & kidneys are adapted to conserve
water
Internal fertilization
Lizards & snakes molt their old skin
Some carnivores; some herbivores
Endotherm
Four-chambered heart
Breathe by lungs
Internal fertilization
Lay hard-shell eggs
Scales on their feet
Migrate due to food and/or weather
Most birds can fly
o Adaptations for flight:
1. Feathers
2. Thin-hollow bones
3. Air sacs (helps to bring more O2 to use
to make energy)
4. Sternum (attached to large chest
muscles)
5. Wings
Well developed brain, which controls flying, singing
& finding food
Most have keen eyesight
Live in widely diverse environments
Help with the process of flower pollination &
dispersal of seeds
Endotherm
Four-chambered heart
Skin covered with hair or fur
Internal fertilization
Have mammary glands to produce milk to nurse
their young
Have teeth of different shapes adapted to their diet
Breathe by lungs; with the help of a diaphragm
Well developed brain & highly developed senses
****************************************
1. ____________________
Lay eggs
Only three living species
*****************************************
2. ____________________
Young are born alive, but not fully developed
Continue to develop in the mother’s pouch
*****************************************
3. ____________________
Develop inside it’s mother’s body until its body
system can function independently
Baby connected to mother by the placenta
Further classified based on the basis of adaptation
(ex: feeding, moving, etc)
Examples