Classifying

Vertebrates
Vertebrates
Animals with backbone
Possess complicated body
parts and functions
The actual actions seen by
vertebrates vary from hopping,
flying, swimming, climbing
For some vertebrates, walking
Size: most vertebrates are
bigger than invertebrates
Vertebrates belong to one of the
phyla of the animal kingdom
called phylum chordata
Phylum chordata – consists of
animals with a dorsal spinal cord
running along the entire length of
the body
Cartilages or bones are the
building materials of most
vertebrate endoskeletons
Mammals and birds are warm-
blooded animals or endothermic
vertebrates
This means that their body
temperature is stable or constant
even if they are in an extremely
hot or cold environment
Can produce heat, control body
heat, have hairs and feathers,
must eat often to maintain body
temperature
Fish, amphibians, and reptiles are
cold-blooded animals or ectothermic
vertebrates
Their body temperature changes with
the environment, need heat to run
their body processes and functions
They depend on the temperature of
their surroundings
Lie down on warm rocks or bask in
the sun to get warm and hide is
shaded places to cool off
Classification of Vertebrates
1 2 3
Mammals Reptiles Amphibians
Birds Fish
Mammals
Warm-blooded animals or
endotherms
Body temperature: does not
change even when the
temperature of the
environment changes
Bodies: partly or
completely covered with
hair or fur
Hair functions: insulation,
camouflage, sensory
devices, water proofing,
signaling and defense
Young: develop inside their
mother’s body and fully
formed when they are born
Feeding: milk from
mammary glands
Breathing: through lungs.
They have muscle called
the diaphragm that helps
them to breathe
Place: most mammals live
on land, others in water.
They use their legs, feet,
and wings for locomotion
Examples: cats, dogs, bats,
monkeys, horses, cows, deer,
whales, and also humans.
Location: found all over the
earth in both cold and warm
climates
Land dwelling, but whale,
porpoise, seal are found in the
oceans
Kinds of
Mammals
Monotremes
Egg-laying mammals
Most primitive and reptile-
like
Duckbill platypus and
spiny anteater of Australia
are the only living
monotremes
Marsupials
Pouched mammals
Kangaroo, opossum and
koala
Born a very tiny, immature
stage and complete their
development in their
mother’s pouch
Placental Mammals
Largest and successful
groups of mammals
The developing young is
retain within the uterus
Young is born in a more
advanced development
Kinds of Placental Mammals
Insect-eating Flying
Mammals Mammals Rodents
1 3

Hoofed Aquatic
Mammals Mammals
Meat-eating
Mammals Primates
Insect-eating Mammals
 Small, mouse-like animals
 Many live underground
 Food: ants, beetles, and
other insects
 Examples: moles,
hedgehogs and shrews
Flying Mammals
 Bats are mammals capable
of flying
 Bat’s wings consist of four
long finger covered and
connected by a membrane
similar to the skin
 Generally active at night
Rodents
 Mice, rats, beavers,
porcupines, squirrels,
hamsters and guinea pigs
belong to the gnawing
mammals – largest order of
placental mammals
 Sharp, chisel-like incisor
teeth are used for gnawing
Hoofed Mammals
 Mammals with feet in the
form of hoofs are called
ungulates
 Divided into two:
Artiodactyla and Ungulates
Artiodactyla
 With an even number of toes
 Pigs, deer, antelopes, sheep,
cattle, hippopotamuses,
giraffes, and camels
Ungulates
 With odd number of toes
 Horses and rhinoceroses
 They belong to the order
Perissodactyla
 All ungulates are herbivores
Acquatic Mammals
 Also known as cetaceans
 Well adapted to life in the
ocean
 They can remain underwater
for long periods of time by
holding their breath
 Whales, dolphins, and
porpoises
Meat-eating Mammals
 Also known as carnivores
 Has powerful jaws and large
teeth that are specialized for
grasping, cutting, and
tearing meat
 Cats, dogs, bears, skunks,
lions, tigers, cheetahs,
walruses, sea lions and seals
Primates
 Can walk using only their
hind legs
 Have well-developed
grasping hand that enable
them to handle and
manipulate objects
 Humans and gorillas
Primates
 Except for humans, gorillas and
baboons live on the ground
while most primates live on
trees
 Most intelligent of the mammals
 Their brains are large and
complex and their sense of sight
is well-developed
Reptiles
Cold-blooded or ectotherms
Cannot generate their body
temperature internally
They must regulate their body
temperature behaviorally
Turtles – basking on rocks on
sunny days
Snakes – gather together in
masses during winter covering
each other to reduce heat loss
Place: Terrestrial animals
(Life on land)
Bodies: dry scaly skin. Have
scales and others have shells
Examples: crocodiles,
alligators, turtles, tortoises,
lizards, iguana, chameleon,
geckos, tuatara, salamanders,
lizards and snakes
Breathing: through their
lungs except for turtles
Movement: legs and feet
Young: some are born
alive and some are hatched
from eggs
Kinds of
Reptiles
Crocodiles and Alligators
Largest living reptiles
Size: 2.5 to more than 7 meters
Place: lakes, swamps, and rivers
in tropical regions
Features: long snouts, powerful
jaws, large teeth, long, muscular
tails
Tails: used for swimming
Crocodiles and
Alligators
Crocodile: snout is long and
somewhat pointed
Alligator: the snout is
rounded
Turtles
 Encased by a protective shell
 Defense: pulling their head
and legs inside their hard
shell
 Carapace – upper shell
 Plastron – lower shell
Turtles
 Food: plants and small
animals
 Place: land and salt water
 Young: lay eggs on land
holes that they dig with their
hind legs
Turtles
Land-dwelling turtles –
slow moving, their short
legs have claws used
for digging
Also known as tortoise
Turtles
Sea turtles – legs are
paddle shaped and are
used in swimming
Snakes
 Bodies: dry scaly skin that shed
periodically
 Food: mice, rats, frogs, toads,
and other small animals
depending on where they live
 Some eat only living animals,
swallowing them alive
 Others kills their prey before
they swallow it
Snakes
 Large snakes such as pythons,
boas, and king snakes coil their
body around their victims
 Poisonous snakes have a pair of
specialized teeth called fangs
 The fangs are connected to
salivary glands, which produce
poison or venom
Snakes
 Venom are neurotoxins, which
attack nervous tissues
 They cause muscle paralysis and
affect the action of the heart and
lungs
 200 to 2500 known species are
poisonous
 More helpful than harmful because
they kill large number of rodents
Lizards
 Bodies: four-legged reptile,
movable eyelids, and external
ear opening
 Skin: covered with scales and
shed periodically
 Place: deserts, in forests, and in
water
Lizards
 Food: worms, spiders, snails,
eggs, small birds, other lizards
and small mammals, plants
 Many lizards can shed their tail
if seized by an enemy
 The tail wiggles, distracting the
other animal, and the lizard
escapes
Amphibians
Cold-blooded animals
Place: lives in water and part
on land
Young: breath through their
gills
Adult: gills disappear and lungs
take their place
Skin: smooth, moist and
scaleless skins
Eggs: lays in water. Their
eggs have no shells
Their eggs have a jelly like
material around them
The eggs develop into
adult through a series of
stages or through
metamorphosis
Two Groups of
Amphibians
Tailed
Amphibians
Long bodies and tails
Two pairs of short legs
Some are entirely aquatic, while
others live under rocks or logs or
in other moist places
They are active only at night
Tailed
Amphibians
Salamander – feed on fish,
snails, insects, worms, and other
small salamanders
Tailless
Amphibians
Short, squat bodies and lack tails
Their large, powerful hind legs
are modified for jumping
Examples: adult frogs and toads
Examples of
Amphibians
Toads
Dry, rough and watery skin
Place: land, far away from water
Day: take shelter
Night: come out to feed when it
is cooler and more humid
Some toads live in the desert,
but need water for reproduction
Toads
Hibernation: life processes slow
down, and become inactive
(winter time)
Toads do a similar activity
during very warm summer days,
and the process is called
estivation
Frogs
Thin, moist skin that is loosely
attached to their body
Place: near ponds, streams,
swamps and other bodies of
water
Winter: hibernate in the mud at
the bottom of pools and streams
Food: insects and worms
Birds
Warm-blooded animals or
endotherms
Can generate their body heat
internally by their own
metabolism
Body temperature: stays the
same even when the
temperature of the air changes
Bodies: the only animals
with feathers
Two pairs of limbs
Forelimbs – wings, in most
birds, are used for flying
Hind limbs – legs that are
used for perching, walking,
swimming, or prey-
catching
Mouth: in the form of a
horn-covered beak or bill
Bills – for picking seeds
Feet – perching on trunk of
trees
Bones: strong and
lightweight that are
adapted for flying
Contain cavities and many
are filled with air spaces
Young: eggs with shell
Examples of
Birds
Pelican
Uses its long, sharp bill for
catching fish
Cardinal
Uses its strong bill to crack
seeds open
Hawk
The hooked bill enables to
grasp its prey
Woodpecker
Uses its bill to bore into trees
and extract insects
The position of the toes and
the presence of sharp claws
enable them to cling to the
sides of trees
Duck
Scoops and strains is food
from mud with its bill
Ostrich
Have sturdy feet that are
useful for swimming
Talon
Also known as “grasping feet
with sharp claws”
Perching birds
Can sleep without falling off
their perch
Fish
Cold-blooded animals or
ectoderms
Body temperature: changes
when the temperature of the
air or water around it changes
Most fish have vertebral
column, jaws, paired fins, scales
and gills
Weight: slightly heavier than
water
Breathing: with gills. It takes
water in through its mouth
Bodies: tails and paired fins
on its back and belly enables
it to swim
Covered with scales that are
thin but are tough sheets
arranged all over their body
A fish has a lateral line on
each side. This sense organ
feels vibrations from the
boat, people, and other
animals
Young: eggs in water.
Hatched from eggs
Swim Bladder or Air
Bladder – located at the
upper part of their body
cavity
Acts as a float that
regulates buoyancy
Two Kinds of
Fish
Bony Fish
Largest group of fish
Bony skeletons, paired fins, and
protective scales
Place: fresh and saltwater
habitats
Have fins made up of skin
webbing and are usually
supported by bones in the ribs
Swim side-by-side movements of
the body and tail
Fins enable to maintain its
balance and control of its
movement
Cartilaginous Fish
Made up of cartilage tissue
Place: saltwater
Have movable upper and
lower jaws equipped with
several rows of sharp teeth
 Examples of
Cartilaginous Fish
Stingray
Flattened winglike bodies
with whiplike tails
Place: ocean floor
Food: worms, mollusks, and
crustaceans
Defense: poison stingers in
the tails
Electric ray
Produce a large electric
charge that they use to sting
their prey
Shark
Fish whose body is
streamlined for swimming
Swim by moving their trunk
and powerful tail from side to
side
Most sharks are meat eaters
and active hunters
Economic Importance of Vertebrates
1 2 3
Mammals Reptiles Amphibians
Birds Fish
Mammals
Many mammals are
sources of food and other
products
Some mammals are kept
as service animals by
people or kept as pets
Mammals are important
for the eco-tourism
industry
Mammals are used in
medical and scientific
research
Mammals provide balance
in nature
Reptiles
Reptiles serve as food
Snake’s venom is used in
medicine – the venom
contains many active
biological compound
Prevents growth of tumors
and serves as painkiller
drugs and ointment for
cuts and burns
Reptiles have their
greatest economic impact
in some temperate and
many tropical forests
Some reptiles are used as
pets
Harriet – 1830-2006
Charles Darwin’s pet
tortoise (1835)
Amphibians
Amphibians are used in
scientific studies
Some amphibians like frog
are used as food
Amphibians have medical
value
Tropical anurans – special
skin secretions which are
hallucinogens in nature
when applied on the CNS
and Respiratory system
Amphibians are used in the
field of art and trade
Adhesive substances are
made using the skin of
frogs
Birds
Birds are sources of food
and provide useful
products
Birds transport a variety
of things through the
environment
Birds help in biological
control
Birds are important for the
ecotourism industry
Fish
Fish are sources of food
and other products
Fish control the spread of
diseases
Some fish eat the larval
forms of mosquitos
Fish are kept as pets
Rare Animals in
the Philippines
Whale Shark
Also known as “Butanding”
Largest fish in the world
Regularly visit Dosol,
Sorsogon from November to
June
Tamaraw
Endemic only to the
Philippines, specifically
Mindoro
Has “V” form horn and
usually smaller than the
carabao
Measure up to 5 to 6 feet in
length and can weigh up to
300 kilograms
Now critically endangered
Palawan Bearcat
Also known as “Binturong”
Mistaken either as a bear or
a cat
Known as civets or the civet
cats
Measures 96 centimeters
Have a tail which is long as its
body and can weigh up to 14
kilograms
Life expectancy: about 20
years
Philippine Flying Lemur
Also known as “Colugo” and
“Kagwang” by local folks of
Mindanao
Can be mistaken as a big bird
as they are like flying
gracefully in mid air
Can glide to a distance of 100
meters or more to escape
being eaten by predators
Philippine Mouse Deer
Also known as “Pilandok”
Can be found in the Philippines
but other types can be found in
Southeast Asia
Female: grow horns to protect
themselves from predators
Male: don’t grow horns
Fend off their predator using
their front canine tusk teeth on
their upper jaw
Philippine Eagle
Also known as “Agila”, “Monkey-
Eating Eagle” and “Great
Philippine Eagle”
Female: usually bigger
Has clearer eyesight than
humans
Life expectancy: up to 60 years
of age