Vertebrate
noun
An animal that has a spine or backbone.
Birds, mammals, and fish are all examples of vertebrates.
Often appears as...
- marine vertebrate
- vertebrate species
Usage tips
Academic
adjective
Relating to animals with a spine or backbone.
The vertebrate structure of a lion makes it a strong and fast predator.
Often appears as...
- vertebrate anatomy
- vertebrate skeleton
Usage tips
Academic
noun
An animal that has a spine or backbone.
Birds, mammals, and fish are all examples of vertebrates.
Often appears as...
- marine vertebrate
- vertebrate species
Usage tips
Academic
adjective
Relating to animals with a spine or backbone.
The vertebrate structure of a lion makes it a strong and fast predator.
Often appears as...
- vertebrate anatomy
- vertebrate skeleton
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Backbone Importance
The term emphasizes the presence of a skeletal structure, distinguishing vertebrates from invertebrates.
Vets specialize in the care of vertebrates, often treating pets like dogs and cats.
Pro Tip 2/3Wide Diversity
Vertebrates can be found in a vast range of habitats, from desserts to oceans.
The Galapagos Islands are home to diverse vertebrate wildlife, including the famous finches.
Pro Tip 3/3Evolutionary Topic
'Vertebrate' is often used when discussing evolution, showing how species share common ancestors.
The transition from water to land is a significant event in vertebrate evolution.
Pro Tip 1/3Backbone Importance
The term emphasizes the presence of a skeletal structure, distinguishing vertebrates from invertebrates.
Vets specialize in the care of vertebrates, often treating pets like dogs and cats.
Pro Tip 2/3Wide Diversity
Vertebrates can be found in a vast range of habitats, from desserts to oceans.
The Galapagos Islands are home to diverse vertebrate wildlife, including the famous finches.
Pro Tip 3/3Evolutionary Topic
'Vertebrate' is often used when discussing evolution, showing how species share common ancestors.
The transition from water to land is a significant event in vertebrate evolution.
Pro Tip 1/3Backbone Importance
The term emphasizes the presence of a skeletal structure, distinguishing vertebrates from invertebrates.
Vets specialize in the care of vertebrates, often treating pets like dogs and cats.
Pro Tip 2/3Wide Diversity
Vertebrates can be found in a vast range of habitats, from desserts to oceans.
The Galapagos Islands are home to diverse vertebrate wildlife, including the famous finches.
Pro Tip 3/3Evolutionary Topic
'Vertebrate' is often used when discussing evolution, showing how species share common ancestors.
The transition from water to land is a significant event in vertebrate evolution.
Compare with
amphibianbirdmammalreptile
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Video examples
The science of stage...
for hundreds of hours, starting weeks in advance. If you know what you're saying, you'll feed off the crowd's energy instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch for a pack of predators. But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus has had millions of years more practice than you. Just before you go on stage, it's time to fight dirty
Video examples
Seven Superpowered...
grows faster than the greenland shark so it's really hard to imagine what doesn't grow faster than the greenland shark all this slow and prolonged life history gives them the power of immortality kind of i mean compared to other vertebrates the greenland shark is actually thought to be the oldest living vertebrate species on the planet
Video examples
A robot that runs and...
saying don't underestimate to what extent the body already helps locomotion. Now, how does this relate to human locomotion? Clearly, human locomotion is more complex than cat and salamander locomotion, but at the same time, the nervous system of humans is very similar to that of other vertebrates. And especially the spinal cord
Video examples
The coelacanth: A living...
that promotes limb development in land vertebrates. So although the coelacanth itself isn't a land-walker, its fins do resemble those of its close relatives who first hauled their bodies onto land with the help of these sturdy, flexible appendages, acting as an evolutionary bridge to the land lovers that followed.
Video examples
Why are sharks so...
And today, sharks are recognized as apex predators of the world's ocean and include some of the Earth's longest living vertebrates. What is it that makes these fish worthy of our ancient legends and so successful in the seas? Much of their hunting prowess stems from a unique set of biological traits
Video examples
Why the octopus brain is...
This is where things get even more interesting. Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton to support our bodies, with joints that allow us to move. But not all types of movement are allowed. You can't bend your knee backwards, or bend your forearm in the middle, for example.
Video examples
How do animals...
like whether pain relievers that work on us also help them. And the more different an animal is from us, the harder it is to understand their experience. How do you tell whether a shrimp is in pain? A snake? A snail? In vertebrates, including humans,
Video examples
Which animal has the...
the largest known in existence. These may help them spot the faint glow of sperm whales as they disturb light-producing organisms. Some fish have eyes that are unique among vertebrates because they use mirrors. For the brownsnout spookfish,
Video examples
Playful, Elusive Foxes...
run fast they have great eyesight they're protected by the elements by living in holes underground they are one of over a hundred vertebrate species alone that make their lives in this prairie ecosystem
Video examples
How can sculptures save...
imagine coral polyps and vertebrate animals calcifying onto these aquatic topiaries if you do it yourselfers here are the basic steps
Video examples
The science of stage...
for hundreds of hours, starting weeks in advance. If you know what you're saying, you'll feed off the crowd's energy instead of letting your hypothalamus convince your body it's about to be lunch for a pack of predators. But hey, the vertebrate hypothalamus has had millions of years more practice than you. Just before you go on stage, it's time to fight dirty
Video examples
Seven Superpowered...
grows faster than the greenland shark so it's really hard to imagine what doesn't grow faster than the greenland shark all this slow and prolonged life history gives them the power of immortality kind of i mean compared to other vertebrates the greenland shark is actually thought to be the oldest living vertebrate species on the planet
Video examples
A robot that runs and...
saying don't underestimate to what extent the body already helps locomotion. Now, how does this relate to human locomotion? Clearly, human locomotion is more complex than cat and salamander locomotion, but at the same time, the nervous system of humans is very similar to that of other vertebrates. And especially the spinal cord
Video examples
The coelacanth: A living...
that promotes limb development in land vertebrates. So although the coelacanth itself isn't a land-walker, its fins do resemble those of its close relatives who first hauled their bodies onto land with the help of these sturdy, flexible appendages, acting as an evolutionary bridge to the land lovers that followed.
Video examples
Why are sharks so...
And today, sharks are recognized as apex predators of the world's ocean and include some of the Earth's longest living vertebrates. What is it that makes these fish worthy of our ancient legends and so successful in the seas? Much of their hunting prowess stems from a unique set of biological traits
Video examples
Why the octopus brain is...
This is where things get even more interesting. Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton to support our bodies, with joints that allow us to move. But not all types of movement are allowed. You can't bend your knee backwards, or bend your forearm in the middle, for example.
Video examples
How do animals...
like whether pain relievers that work on us also help them. And the more different an animal is from us, the harder it is to understand their experience. How do you tell whether a shrimp is in pain? A snake? A snail? In vertebrates, including humans,
Video examples
Which animal has the...
the largest known in existence. These may help them spot the faint glow of sperm whales as they disturb light-producing organisms. Some fish have eyes that are unique among vertebrates because they use mirrors. For the brownsnout spookfish,
Video examples
Playful, Elusive Foxes...
run fast they have great eyesight they're protected by the elements by living in holes underground they are one of over a hundred vertebrate species alone that make their lives in this prairie ecosystem
Video examples
How can sculptures save...
imagine coral polyps and vertebrate animals calcifying onto these aquatic topiaries if you do it yourselfers here are the basic steps
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Peter Agre
American Scientist
Water is commonly regarded as the 'solvent of life,' since our bodies are 70% water. All other vertebrates, invertebrates, microbes, and plants are also primarily water. The organization of water within biological compartments is fundamental to life, and the aquaporins serve as the plumbing systems for cells.
Quote examples
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
French Photographer
Our children think our world will end. It's a tragic thing. Adults don't think that. They don't see that we are eating the planet. But we are. If you take all the biomass of vertebrates on the planet, 98% are men and their domestic animals. All the wild animals in the world make up only 2%.
Quote examples
George C. Williams
American Scientist
Ever since then, all descendant vertebrates have had the forward end of the digestive system and the forward end of the respiratory system very much involved with each other. This manifests itself in the human body with a crossing of the two systems in the throat.
Quote examples
Jeff Goodell
American Author
With nine degrees of warming, computer models project that Australia will look like a disaster movie. Habitats for most vertebrates will vanish. Water supply to the Murray-Darling Basin will fall by half, severely curtailing food production.
Quote examples
Peter C. Doherty
Australian Scientist
The need to deal with pathogens has driven the evolution of the vertebrate immune system, so it should not be surprising that experiments with infectious agents have often illuminated key elements of the underlying mechanisms.
Quote examples
Greg Graffin
American Musician
I got interested in palaeontology and vertebrate history - sparked by books on human evolution - then vertebrate evolution. Studying with palaeontologists kindled my interest in fieldwork.
Quote examples
Susumu Tonegawa
Japanese Scientist
Immunologists agreed that an individual vertebrate synthesizes many millions of structurally different forms of antibody molecules even before it encounters an antigen.
Quote examples
Alice Roberts
English Scientist
I know a bit about vertebrate anatomy and I'd like to think that I'd spot if a skeleton was entirely fabricated or cobbled together from existing bits and pieces.
Quote examples
Anthony Storr
English Author
With the exception of certain rodents, no other vertebrate except Homo sapiens habitually destroys members of his own species.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle.
Quote examples
Peter Agre
American Scientist
Water is commonly regarded as the 'solvent of life,' since our bodies are 70% water. All other vertebrates, invertebrates, microbes, and plants are also primarily water. The organization of water within biological compartments is fundamental to life, and the aquaporins serve as the plumbing systems for cells.
Quote examples
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
French Photographer
Our children think our world will end. It's a tragic thing. Adults don't think that. They don't see that we are eating the planet. But we are. If you take all the biomass of vertebrates on the planet, 98% are men and their domestic animals. All the wild animals in the world make up only 2%.
Quote examples
George C. Williams
American Scientist
Ever since then, all descendant vertebrates have had the forward end of the digestive system and the forward end of the respiratory system very much involved with each other. This manifests itself in the human body with a crossing of the two systems in the throat.
Quote examples
Jeff Goodell
American Author
With nine degrees of warming, computer models project that Australia will look like a disaster movie. Habitats for most vertebrates will vanish. Water supply to the Murray-Darling Basin will fall by half, severely curtailing food production.
Quote examples
Peter C. Doherty
Australian Scientist
The need to deal with pathogens has driven the evolution of the vertebrate immune system, so it should not be surprising that experiments with infectious agents have often illuminated key elements of the underlying mechanisms.
Quote examples
Greg Graffin
American Musician
I got interested in palaeontology and vertebrate history - sparked by books on human evolution - then vertebrate evolution. Studying with palaeontologists kindled my interest in fieldwork.
Quote examples
Susumu Tonegawa
Japanese Scientist
Immunologists agreed that an individual vertebrate synthesizes many millions of structurally different forms of antibody molecules even before it encounters an antigen.
Quote examples
Alice Roberts
English Scientist
I know a bit about vertebrate anatomy and I'd like to think that I'd spot if a skeleton was entirely fabricated or cobbled together from existing bits and pieces.
Quote examples
Anthony Storr
English Author
With the exception of certain rodents, no other vertebrate except Homo sapiens habitually destroys members of his own species.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle.
Example 1 of 10
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