Within the shadowed halls of inquiry at Miskatonic University, the discipline of Vertebrate Zoology invites students to a solemn contemplation of creatures endowed with the ancient marker of the notochord. This course, encompassing the farthest reaches of the phylum Chordata, surveys the major lineages: amphibian dwellers of dusk pools, the unblinking denizens of the abyssal pisces, reptiles whose lineage stretches deep into the fossil record, the secretive and migratory aves, and the mammalian inheritors of a fragile dominion.

Attendees will, under vigilant instruction and within the austere confines of the laboratory, partake in anatomical investigation of selected specimens. The curriculum compels direct engagement: the dissection of both rodent and bird, and the chilling vivisection of a living toad. In this pursuit, students peer beyond the veil of textbook taxonomy, encountering the unsettling intricacies of living form, and engaging first-hand with the enduring enigmas of vertebrate life—both luminous and obscure.