Vertebrate

Vertebrates /ˈvɜrtɨbrəts/ are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata /-ɑː/ (chordates with backbones and spinal columns). Vertebrates include the overwhelming majority of the phylum chordata, 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 amauensis, 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.