Open directory - Chordates - Zoology - Biology

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.