A | B |
chordate | the phylum whose members have a notochord, a nerve cord, and slits in their throat area at some point in their lives |
notochord | a flexible rod that supports a chordate's back |
cartilage | a connective tissue that is more flexible than bone and gives support to some parts of the body |
vertebra | the bones that make up the backbone of an animal |
ectotherm | an animal whose body does not produce much internal heat |
endotherm | an animal whose body controls and regulates its temperature by controlling the internal heat it produces |
fossil | the preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past |
sedimentary rock | a type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together |
fish | a vertebrate that lives in the water and has fins |
swim bladder | an internal gas filled organ that helps a bony fish stabilize its body at different water depths |
buoyant force | the force that water exerts upward on any underwater object |
amphibian | an ectothermic vertebrate that spends its early life in water and its adulthood on land, returning to water to reproduce |
atrium | each of the two upper chambers of the heart that receives blood that comes into the heart |
ventricle | a lower chamber of the heart that pumps blood out to the lungs and body |
habitat | the place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs |
reptile | an ectothermic vertebrate with lungs and scaly skin; lays eggs with tough leathery shells |
urine | a watery fluid produced by the kidneys that contains urea and other waste materials |