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Chordata
Chordata , phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals. The three features uniqu...
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elasmobranch
elasmobranch , cartilaginous fish, member of the subclass Elasmobranchii of the vertebrate class Chondrichthyes (see Chordata ). This group includes sharks , skates, and rays .
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invertebrate
invertebrate , any animal lacking a backbone. The invertebrates include the tunicates and lancelets of phylum Chordata, as well as all animal phyla other than Chordata. The major invertebrate phyla include: the sponges ( Porifera ), coelenterates ( Cnidaria ), echinoderms ( Echinodermata ), flat...
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notochord
notochord , in biology, supporting rod running most of the length of animals of the phylum Chordata and present at varying times in the life cycle. Composed of large cells packed within a firm connective tissue sheath, the notochord lies between the neural tube (spinal cord) and the gut. The divis...
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bushmaster
bushmaster large venomous snake, Lachesis muta, of Central America and N South America. It is a member of the pit viper family, which also includes the rattlesnake. The largest New World snake, it reaches a length of 8 to 12 ft (2.5-5.5 m). It is gray and brown, with a diamond pattern. Unlike m...
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buzzard
buzzard common name for hawks of the genus Buteo and the genus Pernis, or honey buzzard, of the Old World family Accipitridae. Honey buzzards feed on insects, wasp and bumblebee larvae, and small reptiles. The name buzzard is also incorrectly applied to various hawks and New World vultures, suc...
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caracal
caracal or Persian lynx, mammal of the family Felidae (cat family), native to Asia and Africa. It is reddish brown with black-tufted ears. Its total length is about 3 1/4 ft (105 cm). It preys on small deer, hares, birds, and other animals. Active mainly at twilight, it will hunt during the ...
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junco
junco or snowbird, small seed-eating bird of North America closely related to the sparrows . Juncos have white underparts and gray (sometimes also brown) backs. They travel in flocks. The dark-eyed junco is the most common species, comprising in E North America the subgroup sometimes called th...
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killdeer
killdeer common North American shorebird related to the plover and the sandpiper . It is about 10 in. (25 cm) in length and its plumage is grayish brown with a double black band across a white breast. Its simple nest is a depression in the soil or gravel. The killdeer is classified in the phylum...
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nuthatch
nuthatch , common name applied to a number of Old and New World species of small birds of the genus Sitta, related to the titmouse and the creeper. The name refers to its habit of wedging nuts into crevices in trees and pecking them open. Nuthatches are unique in that they climb down tree trunks h...
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