Animals are classified into two major groups- vertebrates and invertebrates. A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone to provide its body support. An invertebrate is an animal that does NOT have a backbone (makes sense, since it has the prefix "in-" at the beginning of it!). Here is some more information about these two groups. VERTEBRATES Vertebrates can be quite small or extremely large or tall since they have a backbone to help support them. Remember in class when we made a worm and giraffe out of clay? We found how impossible it was to make a vertebrate stand upright without the skeletal structure and spine to hold its neck up! This activity helped to show how a backbone, or spinal column, helps some vertebrates to grow as large as a giraffe, or whale!!! Vertebrates can be classified into five smaller groups based on common characteristics: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles.
Bill Nye: Amphibians Bill Nye: Birds Bill Nye: Reptiles Bill Nye: Fish Here are two dichotomous keys that show one way vertebrates are classified. A special note about SNAKES! A lot of people mistakenly believe that a snake is an invertebrate because it is kind of shaped like a worm. THIS IS FALSE! Just remember that reptiles are vertebrates and that a snake is a reptile, so therefore a snake is a vertebrate. Here are some pictures, too, to help you see that a snake has a bone structure. Without it, the snake wouldn't be able to "stand" as it is doing in the picture below. INVERTEBRATES In class, we've talked a lot about affixes, including the prefix in-. When added to the word vertebrate, knowing the prefix in- can mean "not" helps us to understand that invertebrates do NOT have a backbone. Invertebrates make up the largest population of animals on earth- some have estimated that as many as 96% of all animal species on earth are invertebrates! Bill Nye: Invertebrates video
1 Comment
Faisal
9/12/2021 02:00:16 am
Thanks
Reply
Leave a Reply. |