Chordates

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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_terms_of_location

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.
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookAnimalTS.html

Animal Diversity
Gives the key anatomical characteristics of members of Phylum Hemichordata, Phylum Chordata and its Subphyla Urochordata, Cephalochordata and Vertebrata. Illustrated by slides.
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/science/biological_sciences/lab13/biolab13_3.html#Hemichordata

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.
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookANIMORGSYS.html

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.
http://www.svpca.org/

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.
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookDiversity_9.html

Bone
Article from Wikipedia describing the characteristics, functions and types of bone and how bone is formed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone

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.
http://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=469

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.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2951

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.
http://www.bumblebee.org/invertebrates/CHORDATA.htm

Chordata - Biomedia Zoology Museum
An introduction to the taxonomy of the phylum Chordata with explanations of the technical terms used.
http://www-biol.paisley.ac.uk/biomedia/text/txt_chord.htm

Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates
Educational and research resource with sections on ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology and mammalogy.
http://cumv.bio.cornell.edu/

Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Information on the research and programs being undertaken at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
http://vertebrates.si.edu/

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]
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~zool0615/My PDFs/BioEssays asymmetry review.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.
http://members.tripod.com/Thryomanes/AnimalSounds.html

Hearing in Stegocephalians
In this article, Michael Laurin outlines the anatomy and evolution of the outer, middle and inner ear in land vertebrates.
http://tolweb.org/articles/?article_id=470

Infrared Zoo
Uses infrared photography to show the differences between warm and cold blooded animals.
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/index.html

The Integument
Notes on the functions and anatomy of skin and its evolution.
http://www.usm.maine.edu/bio/courses/bio205/08_integument.html

The Integument and its Derivatives
These notes cover the dermis and epidermis including skin, beaks, nails, hooves, horns, hair, feathers, scales and teeth.
http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/courses/bio204/lab5_frameset.htm

Invertebrate Members of the Phylum Chordata
Outlines the differences between the subphylum Vertebrata and the two subphyla, Urochordata and Cephalochordata.
http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=24.25.312.314

Life History of Stegocephalians
Michael Laurin outlines the life history of tetrapods and extinct terrestrial vertebrates.
http://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=468

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.
http://www.rbej.com/content/4/1/59

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Collections
Searchable database of specimens that includes over 50,000 tissue samples for use in molecular analyses.
http://mvz.berkeley.edu/

Online Biology Book: Glossary
Comprehensive list of the technical terms you are likely to come across, with cross references.
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookgloss.html

Other Animal Sounds
Clips recorded by Doug Von Gausig of the sounds made by various amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds.
http://www.naturesongs.com/otheranimals.html

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.
http://tolweb.org/articles/?article_id=467

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]
http://www.mba.ac.uk/nmbl/publications/occpub/guide/section17.pdf

Respiratory System
Notes on external and internal respiration, ventilation, aquatic and aerial gas exchange in all classes of vertebrate. [PDF]
http://www.uta.edu/biology/2458lab/Exercise 36 Anatomy of the Respiratory System.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.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15353907?dopt=Abstract

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.
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/skulls/structure_and_function.html

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.
http://www.sebiology.org/

Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology
Devoted to the study of terrestrial vertebrates in the Pacific northwest. Offers publications and reference data.
http://www.snwvb.org/

Terrestrial Vertebrates
Describes the principle characteristics of tetrapods, which have well defined joints and digits, their classification and phylogenetic relationships.
http://tolweb.org/Terrestrial_Vertebrates/14952

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.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/anatomy/tissue_engineering.html

The Vertebrate: Glossary
Provides a comprehensive list of definitions of the technical terms likely to be met when studying the vertrebates.
http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Lists/Glossary/Glossary.html

Vertebrate Zoology
Lecture notes on the characteristics of the Phylum Chordata and the further characteristics of the classes of animals in the Subphylum Vertebrata.
http://www.ossm.edu/biology/vzln.htm

The Vertebrates
Notes on the classification structure of the Vertebrates with a cladogram to review the evolutionary relationships of the craniata.
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/V/Vertebrates.html

Will's Skull Page
Features images and measurements of mammalian skulls as well as updates and related links.
http://www.skullsite.co.uk/