There is a wide diversity of animals in the vertebrate clade that each is adapted to its abiotic environment. The evolution of vertebrates began over 500 million years ago and they continue to be a successful group of organisms today.

1.1  Vertebrate Diversity
1.2  Basal Vertebrate Evolution
1.3  Evolution of Jaws

The aquatic environment provides a unique set of challenges and opportunities for vertebrates. There are two main extant aquatic lineages – the Chondrichthyans and Osteichthyans.

2.1 The Aquatic Life
2.2 Chondrichthyans
2.3 Osteichthyans

The vertebrate transition to land occurred over several million years and involved a series of transitional forms that were progressively more terrestrial.

3.1 Paleogeography and Extinctions
3.2 Transitions to Land
3.3 Tetrapod Origins

The transition from amphibians to amniotes marks a distinct evolutionary event in vertebrate history.

4.1 Amphibian Life History
4.2 Evolution of the Amniotes
4.3 Turtle Life History
4.4 Lepidosauria Life History

Dinosaurs roamed the earth for over a hundred million years and their descendants are still quite successful today.

5.1 The Mesozoic Era
5.2 Dinosaur Physiology
5.3 Avian Life History

Mammals share a suite of traits that make them unique among vertebrate groups and able to occupy wide a variety of ecological niches.

6.1 Early Mammalian Evolution
6.2 Mammalian Life History