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A chordate (/ ˈ k ɔːr d eɪ t / KOR-dayt) is a deuterostomal bilaterian 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.
This article contains a list of all of the classes and orders that are located in the Phylum Chordata. The subphyla Tunicata and Vertebrata are in the unranked Olfactores clade, while the subphylum Cephalochordata is not. Animals in Olfactores are characterized as having a more advanced olfactory system than animals not in it.
Another feature present in both the Hemichordata and Chordata is pharyngotremy — the presence of spiracles or gill slits into the pharynx, which is also found in some primitive fossil echinoderms . [17] [18] A hollow nerve cord is found in all chordates, including tunicates (in the larval stage). Some hemichordates also have a tubular nerve cord.
All chordates share a common ancestor which lost its echinoderm stereom calcite skeleton. However, later revisions of the theory had each separate lineage losing its calcitic skeleton independently, [ 6 ] as it evolved from its own mitrate ancestor, making the chordates a paraphyletic group [ citation needed ] .
Molecular studies by molecular systematists, based on DNA analysis, in the early 21st century have revealed new relationships among mammal families. Classification systems based on molecular studies reveal three major groups or lineages of placental mammals, Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreoeutheria. which diverged from early common ancestors in the Cretaceous.
Segmentation in chordates is characterized as the formation of a pair of somites on either side of the midline. This is often referred to as somitogenesis. In vertebrates, segmentation is most often explained in terms of the clock and wavefront model.
Vertebrates belong to the chordates, a phylum characterised by five synapomorphies (unique characteristics), namely a notochord, a hollow nerve cord along the back, an endostyle (often as a thyroid gland), and pharyngeal gills arranged in pairs. Vertebrates share these characteristics with other chordates.
The notochord is the defining feature (synapomorphy) of chordates, and was present throughout life in many of the earliest chordates. Although the stomochord of hemichordates was once thought to be homologous or from a common lineal origin, it is now viewed as analogous, convergent , or from a different lineal origin. [ 22 ]