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Phylum 10 – Vertebrata:
- Bilaterally symmetrical
- Triploblastic
- Coelomic body cavity
- Presence of true notochord
- Presence of an internal skeleton
- Complex differentiation of body tissues and organs
- Presence of the nervous system and muscles for locomotive activity
- Presence of paired gills/nostrils for breathing activity
- Found inland, freshwater, and marine habitat
- Vertebrates are further divided into 5 classes
Class 10.1 – Pisces:
- Pisces are all kinds of fishes living in the water
- They breathe dissolved oxygen present in the water
- Their body is streamlined and covered with scales/plates
- Locomotive activity is achieved by the muscular tail
- Cold-blooded and oviparous animals
- The heart is divided into 2 chambers
Class 10.2 – Amphibia
- Lack of scales in the body
- Presence of mucus glands in the skin results in slimy and moist skin
- The heart is divided into three chambers
- Oviparous animals, laying eggs in water
- Habitat – both land and water
- Respiration – gills or nostrils
- Locomotion – webbed toes and legs
Class 10.3 – Reptilia
- The body is covered with scales
- Cold-blooded animals
- Mode of respiration – through lungs
- Oviparous – lay eggs on land, eggs are covered with hard shell
- Most reptiles have 3-chambered hearts, but crocodiles have 4-chamber heart
Class 10.4 – Aves
- This class includes all birds
- Warm-blooded animals
- Four-chambered heart
- Mode of respiration – through lungs
- Oviparous animals
- Forelimbs are modified for flight and are covered with feathers
Class 10.5 – Mammalia
- Warm-blooded animals
- Four-chambered heart
- Viviparous animals – give birth to their young one
- Presence of mammary glands which secrete milk to nourish their young one
- Presence of sebaceous, sweat, and oil glands in the skin
Classification of Animalia kingdom
Systematic naming of organisms – Nomenclature
All organisms are identified in a certain way by naming them with the help of their characteristic features. This organized way of naming organisms is defined as nomenclature. The nomenclature of organisms was introduced in the eighteenth century by Carolus Linnaeus. Linnaeus gave a specific name for an organism at different levels of hierarchy. However, for writing the scientific name, only the genus and species names are commonly used to identify an organism.
For example, the scientific name for
Rat - Rattus rattus
Tiger – Tigeris tigeris
Peacock – Pavo cristatus
Convention rules to be followed while writing the scientific name of an organism:
- The first letter of the genus name is written in uppercase
- The species name is always written in lowercase
- If the scientific name is typed, then it is in italics form
- If hand-written, it needs to be underlined
