Chordata

Campbell et al., Chapter 34

Principles of Biology I (Biology 113) Notes, 2014
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and
moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kindGod made the wild animals
according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the
creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God
saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21, 25
Chordate characteristics
chordates have all 4 of the following characteristics at some point in their
life time:
1. Notochord: flexible rod between the digestive tube and nerve cord
2. Dorsal, hollow nerve cord: other phyla have solid cords, usually
ventral
3. Pharyngeal slits: pharynx area slits
4. Muscular, postanal tail: exclusive to chordates

Lancelets (Cephalochordata)
adult lancelets are weakly swimming, fish-shaped filter-feeder

adults possess all four chordate characteristics (only group)

Tunicates (Urochordata)
tunicates or sea squirts commonly adhere to rocks, docks and boats

have siphons for filter feeding--shoot a jet of water through excurrent

siphon if disturbed
adult only has pharyngeal slits - all 4 chordate traits in larva

Subphylum Craniata
Craniates chordates with a head

during development dorsal hollow nerve cord topped by a neural crest

backbone, cranium

significance: cephalization, sophisticated neural-muscular systems

adult vertebrates tend to lack pharyngeal slits, notochord

a few even lack a tail

Craniate Classification: Key Dividing Points

Head

Vertebral column

Jaws

Lungs

Lobed fins

Legs

Amniotic eggs

Milk

The Jawless Ones

Class Myxini: hagfishes

Skull made of cartilage, no vertebrae

Segmental muscles work against notochord, retained in adulthood

Class Petromyzontida: lampreys

scourge of the Great Lakes--invaded via the canal system and:
decimated fish populations

feed by clamping on to fish as parasites

Jaws
Class Chondrichthyes:
have cartilage endoskeletons

unlike arthropod side-to-side jaws, vertebrate jaws work up and

down

feeding habits vary from aggressive carnivores (e.g., tiger shark,

great white shark) to plankton feeders feeders (e.g., whale shark,
worlds largest fish)

internal fertilization; some species give birth to live young

Class Osteichthyes

bony fish = largest vertebrate class with over 30,000 species

cartilage hardens into bone as fish develop

unlike sharks, buoyancy aided by a gas-filled swim bladder

fusiform body-shape very efficient for swimming (up to 80 km/h)

Pacific Salmon
recognize birthplace by smell, after 2-4 years at sea

Coho most endangered; Salmon River is an indicator stream for

_____

Class Amphibia

Amphibia means two lives

Metamorphosis Therefore, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new

creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(2

Corinthians 5:17)
The Frog Story
eggherbivorous tadpoleslose tail, gain legsinsectivorous adult

adults breath air and most possess lungs, also respire through skin

many must maintain moist skin, live in moist habitats

Cane Toad Curse

cane toads introduced to Australia from Hawaii to control grubs

attacking cane fields

cane toads rapidly became one of Australias worst pests!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvV8OT-mmE

Frogs in hot water

In past 25 years, zoologists have observed a rapid and alarming

decline in amphibians

Why?
1. environmental degradation
2. spread of a pathogenic chytrid fungus

Class Reptilia
distinguished from amphibians by amniotic eggs which protects
embryos from dehydration
The Dinosaur Story
according palaeontologists, dinosaurs ruled the earth during the
Mesozic Era 200-65 million years ago

recent debate about whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded

other new ideas: parental care, e.g., Maiasaura good mother

lizard

Modern Reptiles
Four groups:
1. Lepidosaurs include tuataras, and lizards and snakes
2. Turtles shell, longevity; sea turtles only come ashore to lay eggs
3. Alligators and crocodiles (crocodilians) among largest living
reptiles
4. Birds the modern dinosaurs
Birds
Almost every feature adapted to flight:

No urinary blader

Only one ovary

Small gonads

Toothless beak

Wings and keel

Feathers

Endothermic metabolism

Air sacs for efficient respiration

Acute vision

Bird Origins

Cladistic analysis show birds should be classed within theropods

(bipedal saurischian dinosaurs)

So technically, dinosaurs are not extinct 10,000 species still exist

today as birds

Chinese paleontologists found many feathered theropod fossils since

the late 1990s

Flight evolution?
1) Small, running dinosaurs gaining lift to escape predators or chase prey
2) Extra traction for running up hills
3) Gliding from tree branches

Earliest known bird = Archaeopteryx, dating from 150 million years

ago

Still possessed teeth, claws on wings, many vertebrae on tail

Archaeopteryx as an apparent example of a transitional fossil between

reptiles and birds has created considerable controversy

One of the most outspoken critics of this status is Duane Gish author of
Evolution: Challenge of the Fossil Record (1985) and Evolution: The
fossils still say NO! (1995)

"Not a single intermediate with part-way wings or part-way feathers

has been discovered. Perhaps this is why, with the passage of time
Archaeopteryx in the eyes of some evolutionists, has become more
and more 'reptile-like'! In contrast to Beddard's [1898] assessment of
Archaeopteryx , some evolutionists today not only assert that this bird
is undoubtedly linked to reptiles but that if clear impressions of
feathers had not been found, Archaeopteryx would have been
classified as a reptile. This is a gross overstatement to say the least."
(Gish 1985, p. 110-111)

Penguins fly too but only underwater?

Class Mammalia
Key characteristics: