Chp 34 Origin and Evolution of Vertebrates Flashcards
What are vertebrates?
Animals that have a backbone (vertebrae)
When did vertebrates colonize land?
365 MYA around the Cambrian period
What animals did vertebrates give rise to?
- amphibians
- reptiles (including birds)
- mammals
How many vertebrate species are there?
More than 57,000 species
What group comprise of all vertebrates and two invertebrates?
Chordates
What are chordates (phylum Chordata)?
Bilaterian animals that belong to the clade of animals known as Deuterostomia
What two groups of invertebrates are apart of Chordates?
- Urochordates
- Cephalochordates
What are the 4 key characteristics of chordates?
- Have a notochord
- dorsal, hollow nerve cord
- Pharyngeal slits or clefts
- Muscular, post-anal tail
What is special about chordates characteristics
- Only some species show these characteristics during embryonic development
What is the notochord?
Longitudinal, flexible rod between the digestive tube and nerve cord
What does the notochord provide?
Provides skeletal support throughout the length of a chordate
What is the dorsal, hollow nerve cord?
Developed from a plate of ectoderm that rolls into a tube dorsal to the notochord
What does the nerve cord develop into?
Developes into the central nervoue system: brain and spinal cord
What are pharyngeal slits/clefts?
Grooves in the pharynx that develops into slits that open to the outside of the body
What are the functions of the pharyngeal slits? (3)
- Suspension-feeding structures in many invertebrate chordates
- Gas exchange in vertebrates (except vertebrates with limbs, the tetrapods)
- Develop into parts of the ear, head, and neck in tetrapods
What is the muscular, post-anal tail?
A tail posterior to the anus in chordates.
What are lancelets?
Invertebrates that are marine suspension feeders that retain characteristics of the chordate body plan as adults
What phylum are lancelets in?
Cephalochordata; named for their bladelike shape
What are tunicates?
Invertebrates that most resemble chordates during their larval stage (only last a few minutes)
What phylum are tunicates apart of?
Urochordata
Are tunicates more closely related to other chordates compared to lancelets?
Yes
What is special about turnicates?
Highly derived, and has fewer Hox genes than other vertebrates
What is significant about the Hox gene in early chordate evolution?
- Same Hox genes that organize the vertebrate brain are expressed in the lancelet’s simple nerve cord tip
What does the sequencing of tunicate genome indicates?
- Genes associated with the heart and thyroid are common to all chordates
- Genes associated with transmission of nerve impulses are unique to vertebrates
How are vertebrates and chordates related?
- Vertebrates are chordates that are related
What does the skeletal system and complex nervous system allow for vertebrates to do?
- Capture food
- Evade predators
How many Hox genes does vertebrates have compared to lancelets and tunicates?
Vertebrates: Have 2 or more sets of Hox genes
Lancelets & Tunicates: Have one cluster of Hox genes
What are the following derived characteristics of Vertebrates? (3)
- Vertebrae enclosing a spinal cord
- An elaborate skull
- Fin rays, in the aquatic forms
What are the only two lineages of jawless vertebrates that are here today?
- Hagfishes
- Lampreys
Members of these groups also lacked a backbone
What does fossil evidence of the earliest vertebrates show?
- Lacked a jaw