A large taxonomic group of vertebrate animals that have skulls, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals; also called Craniates.
From Latin 'cranium' (skull) plus the suffix '-ata' (indicating a group possessing a feature). Scientific term meaning 'creatures with skulls'.
Scientists named this group literally 'the animals with skulls' because having a proper skull case was the mind-blowing invention that separated them from earlier vertebrates—your skull is like your membership card to the coolest animal club!
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