VERTEBRATES

Animals with a backbone are called vertebrates.

Their bodies have three parts: the head, the trunk and the limbs.

GROUPS OF VERTEBRATES

There are five groups of vertebrates:

• MAMMALS are viviparous. Most are covered with hair or fur, except marine mammals. They breathe through their lungs. Land mammals have legs. Manire mammals have fins to swim.
• BIRDS are oviparous. Their bodies are covered with feathers. They have two wings and two legs. They have a beak or a bill. They breathe throught their lungs. The majority of birds flu but some birds, like penguins and ostriches, do not.
• REPTILES are oviparous. Their bodies are covered in hard dry scales, and some, like tortoises, have a shell. Some reptiles have legs but others, like snakes, do not. They move by slithering. all reptiles breathe through their lungs.
• AMPHIBIANS are oviparous. They breathe through their lungs and through their skin. They move in and out of the water so that their skin is always moist.
• FISH are oviparous. Their bodies are covered by scales. They breathe trhough their gills.