Question

Why are vertebrates also called as craniates?

• A. All vertebrates possess skull or cranium
• B. All vertebrates possess brain
• C. All vertebrates possess coelom
• D. All vertebrates possess nerve cord

Answer 1

The correct option is A All vertebrates possess skull or cranium

Vertebrates are called as craniates due to the presence of skull or cranium. Craniata include the more familiar chordates: fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most of the extant members of this clade belong to the vertebrata. They are now called as the Craniata, instead of the Vertebrata, because not all of the animals previously known as vertebrates actually had vertebrae. Within Craniates are the true vertebrates, which really do have backbones. The bony or cartilaginous vertebrae replace the notochord as the primary support for the body. Vertebrates are quite diverse in form and have come to be the predominant large animals on the Earth.

So, the correct answer is option A.