Chordates have a notochord and a dorsal, hollow nerve cord

1. Chordates have a notochord and a dorsal, hollow nerve cord • Vertebrates are a subphylum of phylum Chordata • Chordates are bilaterian animals that belong to the clade of animals known as Deuterostomia • Two groups of invertebrate deuterostomes, the urochordates and cephalochordates, are more closely related to vertebrates than to invertebrates

2. Derived Characters of Chordates • All chordates share a set of derived characters • Some species have some of these traits only during embryonic development • Four key characters of chordates: • Notochord • Dorsal, hollow nerve cord • Pharyngeal slits or clefts • Muscular, post-anal tail

3. Dorsal, hollow nerve cord Muscle segments Brain Notochord Mouth Anus Pharyngeal slits or clefts Muscular, post-anal tail

4. Notochord • The notochord is a longitudinal, flexible rod between the digestive tube and nerve cord • It provides skeletal support throughout most of the length of a chordate • In most vertebrates, a more complex, jointed skeleton develops, and the adult retains only remnants of the embryonic notochord

5. Dorsal, Hollow Nerve Cord • The nerve cord of a chordate embryo develops from a plate of ectoderm that rolls into a tube dorsal to the notochord • The nerve cord develops into the central nervous system: the brain and the spinal cord

6. Pharyngeal Slits or Clefts • In most chordates, grooves in the pharynx called pharyngeal clefts develop into slits that open to the outside of the body • Functions of pharyngeal slits: • Suspension-feeding structures in many invertebrate chordates • Gas exchange in aquatic vertebrates • Develop into parts of the ear, head, and neck in terrestrial vertebrates

7. Muscular, Post-Anal Tail • Chordates have a tail posterior to the anus • In many species, the tail is lost during embryonic development • The tail contains skeletal elements and muscles • It provides propelling force in many aquatic species

8. Vertebrate Classes • Kingdom Animalia • Phylum Chordata • Sub-phylum Vertebrata • Class Agnatha • Class Chondrichthyes • Class Osteichthyes

9. Class Agnatha (Lampreys and Hagfish) • Lampreys and Hagfish represent the oldest living lineage of vertebrates • They are jawless vertebrates inhabiting various marine and freshwater habitats • They have cartilaginous segments surrounding the notochord and arching partly over the nerve cord • No scales or paired fins • No gill coverings

10. Slime glands

12. Chondrichthyans (Sharks, Rays, and Their Relatives) • Members of class Chondrichthyes have a skeleton composed primarily of cartilage • The cartilaginous skeleton evolved secondarily from an ancestral mineralized skeleton • The largest and most diverse subclass of Chondrichthyes includes the sharks,skates, and rays • No gill coverings • Scales • Lateral line system

13. Pelvic fins Pectoral fins Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus).

14. Ray-Finned Fishes and Lobe-Fins • The vast majority of vertebrates belong to a group called Osteichthyes • Nearly all living osteichthyans have a bony endoskeleton • Aquatic osteichthyans are the vertebrates we informally call fishes • Fishes control their buoyancy with an air sac known as a swim bladder • Fishes breathe by drawing water over gills in chambers covered by a bony flap called the operculum

15. Swim bladder Adipose fin (characteristic of trout) Dorsal fin Caudal fin Spinal cord Brain Nostril Cut edge of operculum Anal fin Lateral line Liver Gills Anus Heart Gonad Kidney Urinary bladder Stomach Pelvic fin Intestine

16. Ray-Finned Fishes • Class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, includes nearly all the familiar aquatic osteichthyans • The fins, supported mainly by long, flexible rays, are modified for maneuvering, defense, and other functions

17. Clownfish

18. Lobe-Fins • The lobe-fins, class Sarcopterygii, have muscular and pectoral fins • They include coelacanths, lungfishes, and tetrapods

19. Tetrapods are gnathostomes that have limbs and feet • One of the most significant events in vertebrate history was when the fins of some lobe-fins evolved into the limbs and feet of tetrapods • Tetrapods have some specific adaptations: • Four limbs and feet with digits • Ears for detecting airborne sounds

20. Amphibians • Most amphibians have moist skin that complements the lungs in gas exchange • Amphibian means “two lives,” referring to the metamorphosis of an aquatic larva into a terrestrial adult

21. Order Urodela includes salamanders, which have tails • Order Anura includes frogs and toads, which lack tails • Order Apoda includes caecilians, which are legless and resemble worms

22. Order Urodela. Urodeles (salamanders) retain their tail as adults.

23. Order Anura. Anurans, such as this poison arrow frog, lack a tail as adults.

24. Order Apoda. Apodans, or caecilians, are legless, mainly burrowing amphibians.

25. The male grasps the female, stimulating her to release eggs. The eggs are laid and fertilized in water. They have a jelly coat but lack a shell and would desiccate in air.

26. Amniotes are tetrapods thathave a terrestrially adapted egg • Amniotes are a group of tetrapods whose living members are the reptiles, including birds, and the mammals • Amniotes are named for the major derived character of the clade, the amniotic egg, which contains membranes that protect the embryo • The extraembryonic membranes have various functions • Amniotes have other terrestrial adaptations, such as relatively impermeable skin and the ability to use the rib cage to ventilate the lungs

27. Extraembryonic membranes Amnion Chorion Allantois Yolk sac Embryo Amniotic cavity with amniotic fluid Yolk (nutrients) Shell Albumen

28. Reptiles • The reptile clade includes the tuatara, lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians, birds, and the extinct dinosaurs • Reptiles have scales that create a waterproof barrier • They lay shelled eggs on land • Most reptiles are ectothermic, absorbing external heat as the main source of body heat

29. Turtles • Turtles are the most distinctive group of reptiles alive today • All turtles have a boxlike shell made of upper and lower shields that are fused to the vertebrae, clavicles, and ribs

30. Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

31. Alligators and Crocodiles • Crocodilians belong to an archosaur lineage that dates back to the late Triassic American alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)

32. Birds • Birds are archosaurs, but almost every feature of their reptilian anatomy has undergone modification in their adaptation to flight • Birds are endothermic, capable of keeping the body warm through metabolism • Many characters of birds are adaptations that facilitate flight

33. Finger 1 Bone structure Palm Wing Finger 2 Finger 3 Forearm Wrist Shaft Shaft Vane Barb Barbule Hook Feather structure

34. Mammals are amniotes that have hair and produce milk • Mammary glands, which produce milk, are a distinctively mammalian character • Hair is another mammalian characteristic • Mammals generally have a larger brain than other vertebrates of equivalent size

35. Monotremes are a small group of egg-laying mammals consisting of echidnas and the platypus • Marsupials include opossums, kangaroos, and koalas • A marsupial is born very early in its development • It completes its embryonic development while nursing in a maternal pouch called a marsupium

36. Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), an Australian monotreme. Monotremes have hair and produce milk, but they lack nipples. Monotremes are the only mammals that lay eggs (inset).

37. A young brushtail possum. The young of marsupials are born very early in their development. They finish their growth while nursing from a nipple (in their mother’s pouch in most species).

38. Eutherian mammals Marsupial mammals Plantigale Deer mouse Mole Marsupial mole In Australia, convergent evolution has resulted in a diversity of marsupials that resemble eutherians in other parts of the world Flying squirrel Sugar glider Wombat Woodchuck Wolverine Tasmanian devil Patagonian cavy Kangaroo

39. Eutherians (Placental Mammals) • Compared with marsupials, eutherians have a longer period of pregnancy • Young eutherians complete their embryonic development within a uterus, joined to the mother by the placenta • The mammalian order Primates includes lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes • Humans are members of the ape group

40. Derived Characters of Primates • Most primates have hands and feet adapted for grasping • Other derived characters of primates: • A large brain and short jaws • Forward-looking eyes close together on the face, providing depth perception • Well-developed parental care and complex social behavior • A fully opposable thumb