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Agnatha (/ ˈ æ ɡ n ə θ ə, æ ɡ ˈ n eɪ θ ə /; [3] from Ancient Greek ἀ-(a-) 'without' and γνάθος (gnáthos) 'jaws') is a paraphyletic infraphylum [4] of non-gnathostome vertebrates, or jawless fish, in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both living (cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts, anaspids, and ostracoderms, among others).
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.
Idealised vertebrate body plan, showing key characteristics. Vertebrates (and other chordates) belong to the Bilateria, a group of animals with mirror symmetrical bodies. [6] They move, typically by swimming, using muscles along the back, supported by a strong but flexible skeletal structure, the spine or vertebral column. [7]
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals.There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal frame to which the organs and soft tissues attach; and the hydroskeleton, a flexible internal structure supported by the hydrostatic pressure of body fluids.
On the other hand, fossils of early chordates are very rare, as non-vertebrate chordates have no bone tissue or teeth, and fossils of no Post-Cambrian non-vertebrate chordates are known aside from the Permian-aged Paleobranchiostoma, trace fossils of the Ordovician colonial tunicate Catellocaula, and various Jurassic-aged and Tertiary-aged ...
The endostyle is an organ found in invertebrate chordate species of tunicates, lancelets, and in the larval stage of vertebrate lampreys.It assists in filter-feeding. [1] It has evolved into the thyroid in vertebrate chordates.
According to this theory, there is a deep agreement between the vertebrates and cephalochordates, and even all chordates. [75] [76] With the advent of molecular genetics lancelets are once again regarded as a model of vertebrate ancestors, and are used again as a model organism. [77] [30]
Ambulacraria / ˌ æ m b j uː l ə ˈ k r ɛər i ə /, or Coelomopora / s iː l ə ˈ m ɒ p ə r ə /, is a clade of invertebrate phyla that includes echinoderms and hemichordates; [1] a member of this group is called an ambulacrarian.