VertebratesInteresting Facts
In most birds, males and females can be easily
distinguished. The males are generally much more colorful than the females. The males use their colors to try to
attract mates. The females are generally dull brown colors.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chorwedel/5661149028/
Female Peacockhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/burningbracelets/6180632909/
Male Peacock
Instead of ingesting food, some vertebrates feed off of the
tissues of their prey. Sea Lampreys use their mouth and tongue to bore a hole
in the side of a fish and ingest the blood and tissue.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emsef/2331177860/
The mouth of a Sea Lamprey
Bonobos, similar to Chimpanzees, can only be
found in the Congo in Africa.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphicreality/4512176156/
The earliest known bird was the Archaeopteryx.
It seemed to be capable of flight, but still retained many characteristics of nonbirds.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14646075@N03/3935233154/
Archaeopteryx fossil
There are approximately 52,000 species of vertebrates.
Vertebrates include the largest animal ever to exist on the
planet.Blue Whales can exceed a mass of 100,000 kilograms.
A fish discovered in 2004 is just 8.4 mm long.
It’s mass is roughly 100 billion times smaller than that of a blue whale
An early gnathostome, called a Dunkleosteus, grew up to 10
meters in length.It is thought that it could exert a force of 8,000 PSI at the tip of its
jaws.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/baggis/5040125114/
Monotremes are the only mammals that lay eggs.
They are only found in Australia and New Guinea. They include only one species of platypus and four species of echidnas.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/couchy/4287853248/
The Duck-Billed Platypus of Australia
About 95% of fish have skeletons made of bone.
These fish are called “bony fish.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarasutherland/5160563320/
Clown Fish