INTRO

The size of existing vertebrates ranges from 7.7 mm (0.30 in) for the frog Paedophryne
amauensis to 33 m for the blue whale (108 ft).
Vertebrates account for less than 5% of all documented animal species; the remainder are
invertebrates, which lack vertebral columns.

Traditional vertebrates include hagfish, which lack appropriate vertebrae owing to evolutionary
loss[6], while their nearest extant cousins, lampreys, do.[7] Hagfish do, however, have a
cranium.
As a result, while discussing morphology, the vertebrate subphylum is frequently referred to as
"Craniata."
Since 1992, molecular study has revealed that hagfish are most closely related to lampreys[8],
and thus to vertebrates in a monophyletic sense.
Others regard them as a sister.
The vertebral column is the distinguishing feature of a vertebrate, in which the notochord (a
stiff rod of homogenous composition found in all chordates) has been replaced by a segmented
series of stiffer parts (vertebrae) separated by movable joints (intervertebral discs, derived
embryonically and evolutionarily from the notochord).

However, a few species, like as the sturgeon[14] and coelacanth, have secondary lost this
structure, keeping the notochord throughout maturity.
Jawed vertebrates have paired appendages (fins or legs, which may be removed later), although
this characteristic is not needed for an animal to be a vertebrate.