| Anatomical Terms of Location - Article from Wikipedia describing the complex terminology necessary to be used when describing the anatomy of animals in order to avoid confusion. |
| Animal Cells and Tissues: Organization of the Animal Body - Notes by Michael J. Farabee on the structure and functions of each of the four major animal tissue types: epithelial, muscle, connective and bone. |
| Animal Diversity - Gives the key anatomical characteristics of members of Phylum Hemichordata, Phylum Chordata and its Subphyla Urochordata, Cephalochordata and Vertebrata. Illustrated by slides. |
| Animal Organ Systems and Homeostasis - Homeostasis describes the physical and chemical parameters that an organism must maintain to allow proper functioning of its component cells, tissues and organs. |
| The Annual Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy - Details of this year’s meeting of SVPCA and abstracts from presentations made in previous years. |
| Biological Diversity: Animals - Outlines the evolutionary history of animal groups from the simple coelomates to the chordates and the various vertebrate classes, with diagrams and photographs. |
| Bone - Article from Wikipedia describing the characteristics, functions and types of bone and how bone is formed. |
| Breathing in Stegocephalians - Most tetrapods breathe with the lungs that they inherited from their ancestors such as the coelacanth and lungfishes and this is probably also true of extinct groups of stegocephalians. |
| Cardiovascular System: The Heart and Vessels - Outlines the function of this system, its anatomy and physiology, and compares the mammalian organs with those of birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish. |
| Chordata - Information on the invertebrate members of the phylum Chordata, what they have in common, and the characteristics of the two subphyla, Urochordata and Cephalochordata. |
| Chordata - Biomedia Zoology Museum - An introduction to the taxonomy of the phylum Chordata with explanations of the technical terms used. |
| Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates - Educational and research resource with sections on ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology and mammalogy. |
| Department of Vertebrate Zoology - Information on the research and programs being undertaken at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. |
| The Evolution of Left-Right Asymmetry in Chordates - Article by Clive Boorman and Sebastian Shimeld discussing directional asymmetric morphology in which sidedness is fixed for a population, species or higher taxon. [PDF] |
| Guide to Animal Sounds on the Net - Provides an index to animal sounds on the Web including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. |
| Hearing in Stegocephalians - In this article, Michael Laurin outlines the anatomy and evolution of the outer, middle and inner ear in land vertebrates. |
| Infrared Zoo - Uses infrared photography to show the differences between warm and cold blooded animals. |
| The Integument - Notes on the functions and anatomy of skin and its evolution. |
| The Integument and its Derivatives - These notes cover the dermis and epidermis including skin, beaks, nails, hooves, horns, hair, feathers, scales and teeth. |
| Invertebrate Members of the Phylum Chordata - Outlines the differences between the subphylum Vertebrata and the two subphyla, Urochordata and Cephalochordata. |
| Life History of Stegocephalians - Michael Laurin outlines the life history of tetrapods and extinct terrestrial vertebrates. |
| Molecular Patterns of Sex Determination in the Animal Kingdom: a Comparative Study of the Biology of Reproduction - Abstract from an article studying a variety of regulatory mechanisms that determine the sex of offspring in the animal kingdom. |
| Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Collections - Searchable database of specimens that includes over 50,000 tissue samples for use in molecular analyses. |
| Online Biology Book: Glossary - Comprehensive list of the technical terms you are likely to come across, with cross references. |
| Other Animal Sounds - Clips recorded by Doug Von Gausig of the sounds made by various amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. |
| Phylogeny of Stegocephalians - Stegocephalians are tetrapods with digits rather than fins. Michael Laurin explores the relationship between the extant and the extinct members of this group. |
| Phylum Hemichordata, Urochordata and Cephalochordata - Illustrated description of these three phyla, and the three classes within Urochordata. Also information on the larval stages which form part of the plankton. [PDF] |
| Respiratory System - Notes on external and internal respiration, ventilation, aquatic and aerial gas exchange in all classes of vertebrate. [PDF] |
| Sensory Systems in Amphioxus: A Window on the Ancestral Chordate Condition - Abstract from a paper comparing the sensory systems of vertebrates with the less-developed systems of Amphioxus. |
| Skulls: Structure and Function - Though primarily designed to protect the brain, the architecture of an animal’s skull can help scientists to deduce many of its dietary and social patterns. |
| The Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) - SEB membership is open to scientists world-wide and the Animal Section is a thriving community of enthusiastic scientists working across diverse scientific fields. |
| Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology - Devoted to the study of terrestrial vertebrates in the Pacific northwest. Offers publications and reference data. |
| Terrestrial Vertebrates - Describes the principle characteristics of tetrapods, which have well defined joints and digits, their classification and phylogenetic relationships. |
| Tissue Engineering - Describes research at the National University of Ireland, Galway into developing methods of constructing organs in the laboratory that can subsequently be used in medical applications. |
| The Vertebrate: Glossary - Provides a comprehensive list of definitions of the technical terms likely to be met when studying the vertrebates. |
| Vertebrate Zoology - Lecture notes on the characteristics of the Phylum Chordata and the further characteristics of the classes of animals in the Subphylum Vertebrata. |
| The Vertebrates - Notes on the classification structure of the Vertebrates with a cladogram to review the evolutionary relationships of the craniata. |
| Will's Skull Page - Features images and measurements of mammalian skulls as well as updates and related links. |
