Animal+Classification

One of the simplist ways to classify animals is to place them into two categories: vertebrates and invertebrates. Now that we know the two categories, let's find out how the two are different.

A **vertebrate** is any animal with a spinal cord or backbone. Now that you know what vertebrate means, can you think of any vertebrates? Amphibians, fish, birds, reptiles, mammals, primates, marsupials, and rodents are all vertbrates. This means that animals like mice, koala bears, dolphins, frogs, monkeys, and us too are all vertebrates. All of these animals have an internal skeletal system.

Check out this website to view pictures and descriptions of vertebrates and find your favorite one! [|Vert][|brates]

An **invertebrate** is an animal without a backbone or internal skeleton. Invertebrates are interesting because of all the animals that exist, more than 95% are invertebrates. Invertebrates can have a fluid-like inner skelton, like jellyfish or worms, or a hard outer skeleton like insects or crustaceans. The earthworms you find in the soil and the hermit crabs you can buy on the boardwalk are all invertebrates.

Can you think of anymore invertebrates? Check out this website to find out more about invertebrate animals! [|Invertebrates] Which invertebrate did you find most interesting?

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Now that you have learned all you need to know about vertebrates and invertebrates, it's time to test what you've learned. Let's see how much you now know! [|Vertebrate Quiz] [|Invertebrate Quiz]