VERTEBRATA • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Vertebrata

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noun

Vertebrata n. pl. (Zool.) One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom, comprising all animals that have a backbone composed of bony or cartilaginous vertebrae, together with Amphioxus in which the backbone is represented by a simple undivided notochord. The Vertebrata always have a dorsal, or neural, cavity above the notochord or backbone, and a ventral, or visceral, cavity below it. The subdivisions or classes of Vertebrata are Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces, Marsipobranchia, and Leptocardia.

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Etymology of 'Vertebrata'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Vertebrata" Quotes from Famous Books

... the present. At this stage the following facts may perhaps stimulate your imagination. There can be no doubt that many of the Arthropods, a division of animals more ancient and even now more prevalent than the Vertebrata, have undergone more phylogenetic modification"—a beautiful phrase—"than even the most modified of vertebrated animals. Simple forms like the lobsters display a primitive structure parallel with that of the fishes. However, in such a form as the degraded 'Chondracanthus,' the structure has ...

— Certain Personal Matters • H. G. Wells

... 'Vertebrata', the same law holds good: certain types, such as those of the ganoid and placoid fishes, having persisted from the palaeozoic epoch to the present time without a greater amount of deviation from the ...

— Time and Life • Thomas H. Huxley

Words linked to "Vertebrata" : fish genus, class Aves, fish family, phylum, Placodermi, class Osteichthyes, class Amphibia, superclass Gnathostomata, class Chondrichthyes, mammal genus, Channidae, amphibia, phylum Chordata, class Channidae, craniate, Reptilia, reptile family, reptile genus, mammal family, Mammalia, Chordata, superclass Agnatha