Which term refers to an animal with a backbone or spinal column?

Which term refers to an animal with a backbone or spinal column?

• A. Vertebrate
• B. Reptile
• C. Cold-blooded
• D. Scales

Answer: (A)

Backbone-bearing animals are vertebrates because vertebrates have a spinal column that protects the spinal cord and gives the body structural support. This group includes fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Reptile is too narrow since many other backboned animals are not reptiles. Cold-blooded describes temperature regulation, not skeletal structure, and some vertebrates are warm-blooded. Scales are a skin feature seen in some, but not all, vertebrates and don’t define having a backbone. So the term for animals with a backbone is vertebrate.