We can think of vertebrates as being different from one another in a Darwinian sense, because of natural selection and the specializations, evolved as adaptations, of each species. Vertebrates have complex bodies, which they acquire through development. During the term we break this large question up into smaller pieces, pieces that hopefully we will be able to deal with. Studying the evolution of development merges two fields evolutionary and developmental biology. Evo-devo is a short hand for this synthesis, currently of much interest to biologists, with new information accumulating at a great rate.
Vertebrates are familiar creatures.
We all grew up becoming familiar with vertebrates of various sorts. Even teddy bears contributed to the understanding we have about vertebrates. Our familiarity with these well-studied animals makes our chore of learning about them easier. We will want to know about the Geologic Time Table for this course. See PJH p. 195 for a more realistic interpretation of the jellyroll than the one I showed in class.