5 Vertebrate Groups: Quick Facts

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Photos

green sea turtle

Illustration showing examples of vertebrates: a turtle for reptiles, a songbird for birds, a bluegill fish, a salamander for amphibians, and two mammals-a whale and a groundhog.

A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) swims near the surface beside a snorkeller in a red wetsuit in clear blue water off Australia.

A red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) with black spots on its back and head rests on a damp log, surrounded by green moss.

Male Draco volans, or flying lizard, sunbathing on a mossy rock with its yellow throat flap extended in a display.

Three eastern white pelicans with black-tipped wings take off from a muddy shoreline, wings outstretched, with blurred green vegetation in the background.

Distinctive markings

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Topics

Vertebrate 10 Animals With Evolutionary Traits Plucked Straight Out of a Nightmare reptile fish Bird mammal chondrichthyan amphibian agnathan Tiktaalik roseae Amniota