||Ver`te*bra"ta (?), n. pl. [NL.]
(Zoöl.) One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom,
comprising all animals that have a backbone composed of bony or
cartilaginous vertebræ, together with Amphioxus in which the backbone
is represented by a simple undivided notochord. The Vertebrata always have
a dorsal, or neural, cavity above the notochord or backbone, and a ventral,
or visceral, cavity below it. The subdivisions or classes of Vertebrata are
Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces, Marsipobranchia, and
Leptocardia.
||Ver`te*bra"ta (?), n. pl. [NL.]
(Zoöl.) One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom,
comprising all animals that have a backbone composed of bony or
cartilaginous vertebræ, together with Amphioxus in which the backbone
is represented by a simple undivided notochord. The Vertebrata always have
a dorsal, or neural, cavity above the notochord or backbone, and a ventral,
or visceral, cavity below it. The subdivisions or classes of Vertebrata are
Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces, Marsipobranchia, and
Leptocardia.
