Vertebrates

Vertebrates are animals that have a spine. This unit helps students understand that vertebrates share common characteristics, including bone structure and major parts of the skeleton, and that vertebrates can be organized into five classes: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Each class of vertebrates can be distinguished from the others by its common characteristics, including body covering, body temperature, means of breathing, birth method, and other distinguishing features. [For invertebrates resources, find the Invertebrates unit in the Life Sciences domain.]