Craniate (Noun)
Meaning
Animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- The vertebrates, also known as craniates, are a group of animals characterized by the presence of a backbone and a skull.
- Craniates have evolved to occupy a wide range of ecological niches, from the deep sea to the highest mountains.
- In the classification of animals, craniates are a subphylum that includes all vertebrates, from fish to humans.
- The development of a craniate embryo involves the formation of a notochord, which eventually gives rise to the spinal column.
- Craniates are thought to have originated around 530 million years ago, during the Cambrian period, and have since diversified into many different species.