VERTEBRATES

SAN DIEGO ZOO FOR KIDS

VERTEBRATE GROUPS

• MAMMALS

• Are endothermic. Also known as “warm-blooded". The body temperature is always the same, about 37ºC, no matter where they are. Endothermic animals regulate their own body temperature which allows them to live in almost every climate on Earth.
• Have hair or fur on their bodies.
• Are viviparous which means they born from mother's womb.
• Produce milk to feed their babies. This allows them to spend more time with their young and teach them important skills they need to survive on their own.
• Breathe through lungs.

• AMPHIBIANS

• Are ectothermic. Also known as “cold-blooded,” ectothermic animals cannot regulate their own body temperature, so they depend on warmth from sunlight to become warm and active. If they get too hot, they have to find shade to get cool down.
•  They breathe through gills when they are young and they breathe through lungs when they get adult. They also can breathe through their skin.
• Go through metamorphosis. Young amphibians hatch from eggs, but do not look like their parents. As they develop, their body shape changes.
• They have damp skin.
• They are oviparous, they lay eggs in the water.

• REPTILES

• Are ectothermic. Also known as “cold-blooded,” ectothermic animals cannot warm their own body.
• Are covered with dry scaly skin.
• Have lungs for breathing.
• They are oviparous, they lay eggs with hard shell on land.
• Some of them have a shell and some of them do not have legs.
• They crawl or slither.

• BIRDS

• Are endothermic. Also known as “warm-blooded,” endothermic animals regulate their own body temperature which allows them to live in almost every climate on earth.
• Have feathers, beak, claws and wings.
• Lay eggs with hard, waterproof shells. The parent birds incubate the eggs until they hatch, and care for their young.

• They breathe through lungs.

• FISH
• They are ectothermic, also known as “cold-blooded,” ectothermic animals cannot warm their own body.
• They have scales and fins.
• They breathe through gills.
• They are oviparous, They lay eggs in water.

GAMES:
-Grouping animals
- Classify Vertebrates

Add info to each group box

Vertebrates and Invertebrates from LeAnne Benson