| Term | Definition |
|---|
| fin | in fishes, fan shaped membranes used for balance, swimming and steering |
| lateral line system | line of fluid filled canals running along the sides of a fish that enable the fish to detect movement and vibrations in the water |
| scales | thin bony plates that come in a variety of shapes and sizes formed from the skin of many fishes and reptiles |
| swim bladder | thin-walled interal sac found just below the backbone in bony fishes; helps fish control their swimming depth |
| cartilage | tough flexible material making up the skeletons of agnathans, sharks, and their relatives as well as portions of bony-animal skeletons |
| ectotherm | animal that has a variable body temperature and derives its heat from external sources |
| Jacobson's organ | in snakes, a pit-like sense organ on the roof of the mouth that picks up and analyzes airborne chemicals |
| feather | lightweight, modified scale found only on birds; provides insulation and enables flight |
| sternum | large breastbone that provides a site for muscle attachment; provides support for the thrust and power produced by birds as they generate motion for flight. |
| endotherm | animal that maintains a constant body temperature and is not dependent on the environmental temperature |
| gland | in mammals, a cell or group of cells that secretes fluid |
| mammary gland | modified sweat glands in female mammals, which produce and secrete mild to feed their young |
| diaphragm | in mammals, the sheet of muscles located beneath the lungs that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity; expands and contracts the chest cavity, which increases the amount of oxygen entering the body |
| placental mammal | mammals that give birth to young that have delveloped inside the mother's uterus until their body systems are fully functional and they can live independently of their mother's body |
| marsupial | subclass of mammals in which young develop for a short period in the uterus and complete their development outside of th mother's body inside a pouch made of skin and hair |
| monotreme | subclass of mammals that have hair and mammary glands but reproduce by laying eggs |
| vertebrate | an animal with an endoskeleton and a backbone |
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