Topic-CLASSIFICATION-

VERTEBRATES
CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS

Learning Objective:
To list the main features used to place organisms into groups
within the animal kingdom, limited to vertebrates :mammals,
birds, reptiles,Amphibians, fish.
• Vertebrates are divided into five groups called classes.
• 1. Fishes
• 2. Amphibians
• 3.Reptiles
• 4.Aves
• 5.Mammals
• Video link;
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzeVwNnwwD4.
• https://members.gcsepod.com/shared/podcasts/title/9662/60606
Activity 1 –
Group Definition Example

Vertebrates with feathers, Mostly Student Task!

fly , have wings, feathers and
Amphibians beaks, eggs have hard shells. Warm
Human and horse
blooded.

Have scales, fins and breathe

Birds through gills. Cold blooded.
Frog and newt

Match the
Fish
Have moist skin, breath through
lungs, live on land and water . Eagle and sparrow group,
Cold blooded. definition and
Have dry scaly skins and breathe
example.
Mammals through lungs. Cold blooded
Shark and trout

Are covered in hair or fur, give

Reptile and fish
Reptiles birth to live young and feed them
groups
on milk. Warm blooded.

Vertebrates Animals with a backbone Snake and tortoise

 Group Definition Example

Amphibians
Have moist skin, breath through
lungs and need water to breed
Frog and newt
Most fly , have wings, feathers
Birds and beaks, eggs have hard shells.
Eagle and
Warm blooded. sparrow
Are covered in hair or fur, give
Mammals birth to live young and feed them
Human and
on milk. Warm blooded horse

Fish
Have scales, fins and breathe Shark and
through gills. Cold blooded.
trout
Have dry scaly skins and
Snake and
Reptiles breathe through lungs. Cold
blooded. tortoise

Vertebrates Animals with a backbone

Reptile and
fish groups
Class fish
• Streamlined body covered with
scales.
• Absorb oxygen through
gills protected by bony plate called
operculum.
• Their body temperature varies
according to their surroundings
organisms that do this are
called poikilotherms).
• Bony fish reproduce by external
fertilisation and lay eggs (they
are oviparous).
CLASS AMPHIBIANS
• Amphibians live on land and water.
• Characterisitcs:
• Moist scale-less skin.
• Eggs laid in water, larva(tadpole) lives
in water.
• Adult often lives on land.
• Usually have lungs but they can also
absorb oxygen through their moist skin.
• Amphibians reproduce by external
fertilisation and lay eggs.
• Cold blooded animal.
Class reptiles
• Land living vertebrates with
scaly dry skin.
• Four legs apart from snake.
• Lungs for breathing.
• Lay eggs with rubbery shell.
• Cold blooded .
• Ex: crocodiles, lizards,
snakes, turtles and tortoises.
THINK & ANSWER…………
• Crocodiles live in both land and water, but
they are not an amphibian. Why?
 Class AVES (birds)
• Vertebral column in the neck is flexible but
the rest of the body are fused to from a
rigid structure . Adaptation to flight.
• Feathers of several types. Fluffy feathers
from an insulating layer close to the skin.
• Contour feathers give shape to the body
and colour..
• Lay eggs with waterproof shells.
• Endothermic or homeothermic.(warm
blooded)
• Have a beak.
• Hear has four chambers.
• Warm blooded.
Class mammals
• Vertebrates with hair, have
placenta, young feed on milk from
mammary glands.
• Endothermic.
• Have diaphragm.
• Heart has 4 chambers.
• Have different types of
teeth(incisors, canines, premolars
and molars).
• Warm blooded.
• Fertilization is internal.
 What group do i belong to? 1
• I have green and brown
Basilisk Lizard
moist skin.
• I can run on water.
• I lay about 20 jelly
covered eggs at a time in
water.
• I am cold blooded.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_ne
• I feed on both flowers and ws/newsid_8303000/8303740.stm
small animals.
• I live in trees and on river Student Task!
banks.
Write down the features in
the passage that make the
I am an Basilisk lizard an ______
STOP
Amphibian!
 What group do i belong to? 2
• I live in water and breathe
Loggerhead Turtle
through lungs.
• My skin is covered in pale
brown dry scales.
• I lay tough leathery eggs
on land.
• I am cold blooded.
• I feed on invertebrates
like crabs and clams.
• I can live for over 39 Student Task!
years.
Write down the features in
the passage that make the
I am STOP
a reptile! Loggerhead Turtle a ____
 What group do i belong to? 3
• I live in caves and dark
places. Vampire Bat
• I have a wing span of 18cm
and I can fly.
• I give birth to live young and
feed them on milk.
• I weigh 57 grams and my
body is covered in brown fur.
• As an adult I only feed on
blood.
Student Task!
• I live up to 9 years.

Write down the features in

I am a the passage that make the
STOP Vampire bat a ______
Mammal!
 What group do i belong to? 4
• I am covered in brown
Emu
feathers.
• I can run at around 50
Km/hr.
• I lay eggs with hard shells.
• I eat stones that help me
to digest my food.
• I eat plants and small
insects.
Student Task!
• I live up to 30years.
Write down the features in
the passage that make the
I am a Bird!
STOP Emu a _____.
 What group do i belong to? 5
• I am an animal that lays soft
shelled eggs. Duck –Billed Platypus
• I live mainly in water.
• I feed my young on milk.
• I am covered in brown fur.
• My body temperature is around
30oC.
• I have a beak that I search for
food with on the river bottom.
• The males of my species have a
venomous spike on their hind Student Task!
legs.
Write down the features in
the passage that make the
I am a Duck-Billed platypus a
Mammal! mammal.________
PLENARY
• 1. An organism has dry scales covering its body. To which vertebrate group does
it belong?
• A amphibian
• B fish
• C mammal
• D reptile
• 2.Many snakes that belong to viper family are unusual in that they give birth to
live young. This is the characteristic of which vertebrate group?
• A amphibian
• B bony
• C mammal
• D birds
3.Name the vertebrate group that contains lizards.
4. The picture below shows a female lion in a game reserve.

• (i) State one feature, visible in above figure which identifies the lion as a mammal. [1]
• 5. List the groups of vertebrates.
HOME WORK
RESEARCH MORE ABOUT VERTEBRATES AND GIVE
EXAMPLES FOR THE SAME