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A chordate (/ ˈ k ɔːr d eɪ t / KOR-dayt) is a deuterostomic bilaterial animal belonging to the phylum Chordata (/ k ɔːr ˈ d eɪ t ə / kor-DAY-tə). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five distinctive physical characteristics (synapomorphies) that distinguish them from other taxa.
- List of chordate orders
This article contains a list of all of the classes and...
- Cambrian chordates
The Cambrian chordates are an extinct group of animals...
- List of chordate orders
Chordates are animals with a notochord, a flexible rod-like structure in their bodies. They include vertebrates and some invertebrates, such as tunicates and lancelets. Learn about their classification, evolution and features.
This article contains a list of all of the classes and orders that are located in the Phylum Chordata.
- Discovery
- Burgess Shale Chordates
- Maotianshan Shale Chordates
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Pikaia gracilens was the first Cambrian chordate known. It was discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott from the Burgess Shale in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Walcott reported the specimen with taxonomic description in 1911. He used the series of transverse body segments as a feature of annelid worms and classified it as a polychaete w...
Pikaia gracilens
Pikaia gracilens was a primitive chordate having a lancelet-like body that lacked a well-defined head components and averaged about 3.8 cm in length. On each side of its head is a pair of large, antenna-like tentacles similar to those of snails. There are a series of short appendages on either side of the underside of the head just after the mouth, and their exact nature or function is unknown. The pharynx is associated with six pairs of slitswith tiny filaments that could be used for respira...
Metaspriggina walcotti
Metaspriggina Walcotti is fish-like and measures up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in breadth. It possesses a notochord along with seven pairs of pharyngeal bars, possibly made of cartilage. The pharyngeal bars were formed of multiple separate pairs of bones. The first two pairs are larger than the others and do not support any gills, a characteristic that suggests a distant relationship to gnathostomatans (jawed vertebrates from fish to humans). It lacked fins...
Yunnanozoon lividum
Yunnanozoon lividum is small, measuring 2.5 to 4 cm long. It is described as a deuterostome being either a hemichordate or chordate. An analysis in 2022 affirmed it to be one of the earliest members (basal) of the vertebrate family tree. It has a general appearance of that of Pikaia. There are no indications of structures such as a heart, gills, etc., which are seen in well-preserved specimens of Haikouella. An analysis in 2015 concluded that Haikouella is a junior synonym of Yunnanozoon, and...
Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa
Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa is 2.8 cm long and 0.6 cm high. It is among the oldest possible craniates. It appears to have a skull and skeletal structures made of cartilage. It has a distinct head and trunk with a forward sail-like dorsal fin and a ventral finfold. There are five or six gill pouches with hemibranchs on its head. 25 myomeres with rearward-facing chevrons are arranged on its trunk. It has a distinct notochord, a pharynx and a digestive tractthat may run all the way to the rear tip...
Zhongjianichthys rostratus
Zhongjianichthys rostratus is generally regarded as an early fish, and therefore as one of the first vertebrates. It has an eel-like body, 1.1 cm in length, and covered with a thick integument. It has no visible myomeres. Its ventral fin is low and runs much of the body's length. It has reduced fins that indicates that it was mainly bottom-dwelling and did not swim much.
Cambrian chordates are extinct animals belonging to the phylum Chordata that lived during the Cambrian period. Learn about their discovery, features, diversity and evolution from the Burgess Shale and Chengjiang biota fossils.
Sep 11, 2024 · chordate, any member of the phylum Chordata, which includes the vertebrates (subphylum Vertebrata), the most highly evolved animals, as well as two other subphyla—the tunicates (subphylum Tunicata) and cephalochordates (subphylum Cephalochordata).
Learn about the distinguishing features of chordates, a phylum of deuterostome animals that includes vertebrates and some invertebrates. Explore the evolutionary innovations and adaptations of chordates, such as the notochord, the dorsal nerve cord, and the amniotic egg.
Apr 7, 2019 · A chordate is an animal that belongs to the phylum Chordata, which is part of the Deuterostomes kingdom. Organisms in the Deuterostomes kingdom have a distinct characteristic: their anus develops before their mouth in early embryonic stages.
