Types Of Animals Vertebrates

types of animals vertebrates

The two groups of animal kingdom are the group of vertebrate animals and that of non-vertebrate animals. Vertebrate animals are the animals that have backbone and are further classified into five types of animals vertebrates.

1) MAMMALS

Mammals are the types of animals vertebrates that has the unique feature of breast feeding their young in order to nourish them. Apart from the milk producing glands, sweat glands are another distinguishing feature of mammals. The mammals class is so vast and us human beings are also included in this class. Other features that distinguish mammal types of animals vertebrates are:

– JAW JOINT

In mammals, the jaw joint is formed by the meeting of lower jaw bone that carry the teeth and squamosal bone. Slight variations are found in a few species but the basic structure remains the same.

– MIDDLE EAR

In mammals, the sound travels through the ear drum through three bones named as malleus, incus and stapes.

– TOOTH REPLACEMENT

In mammals, the tooth gets replaced either once or never gets replaced. It means that there will not be any continuous replacements of tooth throughout their lives.

– REPRODUCTION

Offspring develop inside mother’s womb and after a particular period of growth, mother delivers the offspring unlike other class of vertebrates that lay eggs.

2) FISH

Fish are the paraphyletic organisms that are distinguished by their gill bearing respiratory mechanism. These are aquatic types of animals vertebrates and differ from mammals in various features such as respiratory system, limbs and absence of glands. The features of fish are:

– Presence of gills

– Fins

– Reproduction by egg laying

– Aquatic

3) BIRDS

Birds are the types of animals vertebrates that are distinguished by its winds and the ability to fly. There are around 10,000 living species of birds in the world but all of them necessarily do not fly. Birds have a wide range of features such as:

– Feathered body

– Presence of wings

– Beaked mouth

– Warm blooded vertebrates

– Egg laying

Birds are also popular for the nests they make.

4) AMPHIBIANS

Amphibians are the types of animals vertebrates that can live in both water and earth and are distinguished by their ability to inhabit variety of habitats. Most of the amphibians begin their life as a larva in an aquatic habitat and later on transforms to a new form, by metamorphosis, which lives in any terrestrial habitat. While the young larva contains gills for respiration, the adults contain lungs and this happens through metamorphosis. Typical examples of amphibians are frogs, caecilian, newt etc.

5) REPTILES

Reptiles are the types of animals vertebrates that are considered as an evolutionary grade of animals and includes animals such as snakes, turtles, crocodiles etc. reptiles are neither mammals nor birds and have so many distinguishing features. One of the most important feature of living reptiles is the presence of scales or cutes. Scales or cutes act as a protective layer for the skin of these cold blooded vertebrates.