Vertebrate (Adjective)
Meaning
Having a backbone or spinal column; "fishes and amphibians and reptiles and birds and mammals are verbetrate animals".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- Vertebrate animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, make up about 5% of all animal species on Earth.
- All vertebrate species, from humans to sharks, share a common characteristic: a notochord, or dorsal hollow nerve cord, at some stage in their development.
- Humans, like other vertebrate mammals, have a vertebral column that houses and protects the spinal cord.
- Birds, despite their lack of teeth and internal shell, are classified as vertebrate animals because they have a backbone.
- Some of the most diverse and ancient vertebrate species on the planet can be found in the deep ocean.