Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies.
Phone: (916) 386-2665
Fax: (916) 381-4006
Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Monday, December 30, 2024
Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies.
Biological supplies, FOSS and STC refill kits, Owl Pellets, life science and biology supplies. Home  ◊  Contact Us  ◊  View Cart  ◊  Print Catalog

Preserved Vertebrates


Preserved VertebratesVertebrata is a subphylum of chordates, specifically, those with backbones or spinal columns. About 57,739 species of vertebrates have been described. Vertebrates started to evolve about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion, which is part of the Cambrian period (first known vertebrate is Myllokunmingia). Their name derives from the bones of the spinal column (or vertebral column), the vertebrae.

Vertebrata is the largest subphylum of chordates, and contains most animals with which people are generally familiar (except insects). Fish (including lampreys, but traditionally not hagfish, though this is now disputed), amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals (including humans) are vertebrates. Characteristics of the subphylum are a muscular system that mostly consists of paired masses, as well as a central nervous system which is partly located inside the backbone (if one is present).

Usually, the defining characteristic of a vertebrate is considered the backbone or spinal cord, a brain case, and an internal skeleton, but the former do not hold true for lampreys, and the latter is arguably present in some other chordates. Rather, all vertebrates are most easily distinguished from all other chordates by having an unequivocal head, that is, sensory organs - especially eyes are concentrated at the fore end of the body and there is pronounced cephalization. Compare the lancelets which have a mouth but no true head, and "see" with their entire back.

The internal skeleton which defines vertebrates consists of cartilage or bone, or in some cases both. An outer skeleton in form of a bony armour was the first bony substance the vertebrates evolved. It is possible its primary function was as a phosphate reservoir, excreted as calcium phosphate and stored around the body, offering protection at the same time.

The skeleton provides support to the organism during the period of growth. For this reason vertebrates can achieve larger sizes than invertebrates, and on average vertebrates are in fact larger. The skeleton of most vertebrates, that is excluding the most primitive ones, consists of a skull, the vertebral column and two pairs of limbs. In some forms of vertebrates, one or both of these pairs of limbs may be absent, such as in snakes or whales. These limbs have been lost in the course of evolution.

  • Agnatha - Agnatha (Greek, "no jaws") is a paraphyletic superclass of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata. There are two extant groups of jawless fish (sometimes called cyclostomes), the lampreys and the hagfish, with about 60 species between them.

  • Amphibians - Amphibians (class Amphibia) are a taxon of animals that include all tetrapods, four-legged vertebrates, that do not have amniotic eggs. Amphibians (from Greek αμφις "both" and βιος "life") are ectotherms, and generally spend part of their time on land, but most do not have the adaptations to an entirely terrestrial existence found in most other modern tetrapods (amniotes).

  • Birds - Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as wings, and hollow bones.

  • Chondrichthyes (Sharks) - The Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fishes are jawed fish with paired fins, paired nostrils, scales, two-chambered hearts, and skeletons made of cartilage.

  • Mammals - The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands, which in females produce milk for the nourishment of young; the presence of hair or fur; and endothermic or "warm-blooded" bodies.

  • Osteichthyes (Fish) - Osteichthyes are a taxonomic superclass of fish, also called bony fish that includes the ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and lobe finned fish (Sarcopterygii).

  • Reptiles - Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane. Today they are represented by four surviving orders:
  1. Crocodilia (crocodiles, caimans and alligators): 23 species
  2. Rhynchocephalia (tuataras from New Zealand): 2 species
  3. Squamata (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids): 7,600 species
  4. Testudines (turtles): approximately 300 species
Featured Items
Bullfrogs Plain 5-6-in. -...
Bullfrogs Plain 5-6-in. - Each The American Bull Frog (Rana catesbeiana) is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or "true fr...
Read more ���
$11.22 (Buy Now)

Cow Eyes (100+) - Each
Read more ���
$2.20 (Buy Now)

Fetal Pigs Double Injecte...

Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. The...

Read more ���
$21.45 (Buy Now)

Lamprey Plain - Each
Lamprey Plain - Each

A lamprey is a jawless fish with a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth, with which most species bore into th...

Read more ���
$16.14 (Buy Now)

Perch Plain 9-11-in. - Ea...
Perch Plain 9-11-in. - Each

Perca is the genus of fish referred to as perch or yellow perch, a group of freshwater fish belonging to th...

Read more ���
$4.70 (Buy Now)

Pigeons Plain - Each
Pigeons Plain - Each

The doves are the 308 species of near passerine birds in the order Columbiformes. The terms dove an...

Read more ���
$12.90 (Buy Now)

Shark Double Injected 27+...
Shark Double Injected 27+ (10+)Each

Sharks are a group (superorder Selachimorpha) of fish, with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a streamlined...

Read more ���
$19.80 (Buy Now)

Sheep Pluck (10+) - Each
Read more ���
$16.00 (Buy Now)

Niles Biological, Inc.
9298 Elder Creek Road
Sacramento, CA 95829
(916) 386-2665
Niles Biological, Inc.
9298 Elder Creek Road
Sacramento, CA 95829
(916) 386-2665