FIRST GREAT DIVISION OF THE ANIMAL 

 KINGDOM. 



ANIMALIA VERTEBRATA. 



THE bodies and limbs of vertebrated animals being supported by a 

 frame- work or skeleton composed of connected pieces that are moveable 

 upon each other, their motions are certain and vigorous. The solidity 

 of this support enables them to attain considerable size, and it is among 

 them that the largest animals are found. 



The great concentration of the nervous system, and the volume of its 

 central portions, give energy and stability to their sentiments, whence 

 result superior intelligence and perfectibility. 



Their body always consists of a head, trunk, and members. 



The head is formed by the cranium, which contains the brain, and 

 by the face, which is composed of two jaws and of the receptacles of the 

 senses. 



The trunk is supported by the spine and the ribs. 



The spine is formed of vertebrae, the first of which supports the 

 head, that move upon each other, and are perforated by an annular 

 opening, forming together a canal, in which is lodged that medullary 

 production from which arise the nerves, called the spinal marrow. 



The spine, most commonly, is continued into a tail, extending 

 beyond the posterior members. 



The ribs are a kind of semicircular hoops which protect the sides of 

 the cavity of the trunk ; they are articulated at one extremity with the 

 vertebrae, and most generally at the other with the sternum : some- 

 times, however, they do not encircle the trunk, and there are genera in 

 which they are hardly visible. 



