Vertebrate Evolution

Trace the lineages of vertebrate evolution from the earliest animals with backbones over 400 million years ago to the present. Displays summarize the principal features of each major group including the jawless fish (now represented only by hagfish and lampreys), sharks, bony fish, and amphibians as a transitional stage between living in water and on the land. Also view egg laying reptiles, crocodiles and alligators that are closely related to birds and dinosaurs, and lastly, modern birds and mammals where feeding and rearing of the young is highly developed. See buffalo in their natural plains environments and examples of Native America culture illustrating biological evolution in humans.