Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (chordates with backbones and spinal columns).

Vertebrates include the overwhelming majority of the phylum chordate, with currently about 64,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Extant vertebrates range in size from the frog species Paedophryne amanuensis, at as little as 7.7 mm (0.3 inch), to the blue whale, at up to 33 m (110 ft). Vertebrates make up about 4% of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack backbones. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfishes, which do not have proper vertebrae, though their closest living relatives, the lampreys, do have vertebrae. Hagfishes do, however, possess a cranium. For this reason, the vertebrate subphylum is sometimes referred to as "Craniata" when discussing morphology. Molecular analysis since 1992 has suggested that the hagfishes are most closely related to lampreys, and so also are vertebrates in a monophyletic sense. Others consider them a sister group of vertebrates in the common taxon of Craniata. Pisces Pisces is a Class in the Subphylum Vertebrata of the Phylum Chordata, so they have all of the characteristics of both of these groups in addition to the following: Skin covered in scales Ectothermic, cold blooded Soft shelled eggs that must be laid in water External fertilization All members are fully aquatic Limbs modified into fins Gas exchange through gills Reptiles Reptiles are a highly successful group of 6,547 different species. Since reptiles are cold blooded, they do not need to consume as much food to maintain a body temperature. This gives them a great advantage over warm-blooded mammals, especially in desert areas where vegetation can be sparse. Reptiles can be distinguished from amphibians by their scaly skin. In addition, reptiles either lay eggs or give birth to live babies. Amphibians are cold-blooded, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Amphibians typically start out as larva living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult airbreathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely upon skin. Birds (class Aves) are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. With around 10,000 living species, they are the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambere d heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton.

Mammals (class Mammalia are a clade of warm-blooded amniotes. Among the features that distinguish them from the other amniotes, the reptiles and the birds, are hair, three middle ear bones, mammary glands in females, and a neocortex (a region of the brain). The mammalian brain regulates body temperature and the circulatory system, including the four-chambered heart. The mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the rorqual whales, as well as the most intelligent, the apes. The basic body type is a four-legged land-borne animal, but some mammals are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in the trees, or on two legs. The largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta which feeds the offspring during pregnancy. Mammals range in size from the 3040 millimeter (1- to 1.5-inch) bumblebee bat to the 33-meter (108-foot) blue whale.