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Hemichordates ("half chordates") have some features similar to those of chordates: branchial openings that open into the pharynx and look rather like gill slits; stomochords, similar in composition to notochords, but running in a circle round the "collar", which is ahead of the mouth; and a dorsal nerve cord—but also a smaller ventral nerve cord.
The calcichordate hypothesis, formulated by British Museum paleontologist Richard Jefferies, holds that each separate lineage of chordate (Cephalochordates, Urochordates, Craniates) evolved from its own lineage of mitrate, and thus the echinoderms and the chordates are sister groups, with the hemichordates as an out-group. [1]
A third class, the Larvacea (or Appendicularia), is the only group of tunicates to retain their chordate characteristics in the adult state, a product of extensive neoteny. The 70 species of larvaceans superficially resemble the tadpole larvae of amphibians, although the tail is at right angles to the body.
Acorn worm on the ocean floor Most acorn worms range from 9 to 45 centimetres (3.5 to 17.7 in) in length, with the largest species, Balanoglossus gigas , reaching 1.5 metres (5 ft) or more. The body is made up of three main parts: an acorn-shaped proboscis, a short fleshy collar that lies behind it, and a long, worm-like trunk.
The ocean's surface acts like a skin between the atmosphere above and the water below, and hosts an ecosystem unique to this environment. This sun-drenched habitat can be defined as roughly one metre in depth, as nearly half of UV-B is attenuated within this first meter. [2]
[citation needed] Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, [54] making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes (a superphylum), after the chordates (which include the vertebrates, such as birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles).
Vertebrates (phylum Chordata), particularly pelagic fish, cetaceans and sea turtles, form the largest contribution; these animals have endoskeletons made of bones and cartilages and propel themselves via a powerful tail and fan/paddle-shaped appendages such as fins, flippers or webbed feet.
As their habitats are mostly defined by ocean currents, [1] many species have a cosmopolitan distribution, with some like Oikopleura dioica being found in all of the world's oceans. [27] Larvaceans have been reported as far as the Southern Ocean , where they are estimated to comprise 10.5 million tonnes of wet biomass.