Midterm Flashcards
What are the derived characteristics of the chordates?
What do these characteristics reflect selection for?
- A generalized nonvertebrate chordate:
- Notochord
- Dorsal hollow nerve cord
- Myomeres (v-shaped)
- Postanal tail
- Pharyngeal slits and bars (“gill slits” - supporting bars of collagen-like material) - mostly for filter feeding (minimal gas exchange)
- Endostyle (may have developed into thyroid)
- Reflects selection for enhanced locomotion and feeding
What are the defining synapomorphies of the Subphylum Craniata?
- Cephalization (many synapomorphies associated with this)
- Splanchnocranium or visceral skeleton
- Chondrocranium
- Complex, W-shaped myomeres
- Excretory function (extretory tubules in hagfishes or kidneys)
- Three-chambered heart
- Prominent tail fin with fin rays
- Closed circulatory
- RBCs, haemoglobin
What are the synapomorphies associated with cephalization?
- Distinct head with cranium, tripartite brain, and sensory organs
- Paired lateral eyes
- Single olfactory tract
- Inner ears with one or more semicircular canals (orientation in 3D space; balance)
- Lateral line system - movement in water (pressure)
- Cartilaginous pharyngeal (gill) arches
- Support respiratory gills
- Pharynx and gut is muscularized
- Aids in respiration and suction feeding (pharynx)
- Peristalsis (in gut) - increases efficiency
What are the two key developmental and genetic changes involved in the origin of craniates?
- Evolution of neural crest cells and ectodermal placodes
- New developmental and regulatory genes (Hox genes and regulatory micro RNAs)
What are neural crest cells?
What can they differentiate into?
Which outgroup to the hagfish and lampreys may have had neural crest cells?
- Embryonic ectodermal cells
- Form along the neural tube and migrate throughout the body
- Control development
- Differentiate into many different cell types (define cellular differentiation in many different parts of the body)
- Splachnocranium (pharyngeal arches and pouches)
- Teeth, nasal area of skull, jaws, middle ear
- Peripheral nervous system
- Endocrine organs
- Epidermal pigment cells
- The Urochordates may have had neural crest-like genes
What are ectodermal placodes?
What do they differentiate into?
Ectodermal placodes and neural crest cells interact with each other to form what?
- Thickening of the anterior ectoderm near the neural tube - highly neurogenic (caused by, controlled by, or arising in the nervous system)
- Placodes differentiate into (think sensory!):
- Olfactory region
- Taste receptors
- Eye lens
- Inner ears
- Lateral line system
- Electroreceptors
- Cranial nerves
- Interact with neural crest cells to form most of the vertebrate head
What are Hox genes?
What do their duplications lead to?
- Duplicate/multiple genes work in concert to code for more complex body parts during development
- Non-craniate animals = Single Hox cluster
- Jawless craniates = Two Hox clusters
- Jawed craniates = Four Hox clusters
What is the function of regulatory micro RNAs?
- Regulate RNAs that code for proteins
- Attach to mRNA and block translation
- Regulate development of many complex vertebrate structures
What are the different ways that the “Cyclostomes” or “Agnathans” can be grouped? (i.e., in what ways can they be grouped as either monopyletic or paraphyletic?)
- Based on morphology (no jaws, no bone, single nasal opening)
- Hagfish = outgroup to the lampreys and gnathostomes
- “Paraphyletic”
- Based on molecular evidence (micro RNAs and genes)
- Hagfish and lampreys are monophyletic outgroup to the gnathostomes
What are the characteristics of the Hagfishes (the Myxinoidea)?
- Around 40 species, worldwide, marine
- Fibrous cranium
- No vertebrae
- One semicircular canal
- Rudimentary lateral line
- Rudimentary kidneys = osmoconformer (all body fluid is at the same solute concentration as salt water)
- Reduced eyes, no pineal
- Caudal fin only
- Deep sea scavangers
What are the characteristics of the Lampreys (the Petromyzontoidea)?
- 40 species, north waters, marine and fresh water
- Cartilaginous cranium (stiff, fibrous material)
- Cartilaginous “arcualia” (cartilaginous vertebrae)
- Two semicircular canals
- Well developed lateral line
- Well developed kidneys
- Well developed eyes, pineal
- Caudal and dorsal fin
- Many are external parasites
What are the two major extinct jawless vertebrate groups?
- The Conodonts
- The “Ostracoderms”
What are the key features of the conodonts?
-
Mineralized pharyngeal teeth (first record of mineralized tissue!)
- Unique vertebrate mineral of hydroxyapatite (Ca, P) bound to collagen fibers
- Similar to vertebrate tooth dentine and enamel (but independent evolution)
- But no jaws!
What are the key features of the “Ostracoderms”?
What kind of bone do they have?
What are the selective advantages to having this type of bone?
- Paraphyletic group with an uncertain phylogeny
- Mineralized exoskeleton (armour-like or scale-like)
- Most with cartilaginous endoskeleton
-
First known vertebrates with bone
-
This is dermal bone (external hardening around connective tissue)
- Dentine (from neural crest cells)
- Acellular bone (not heavily bound to collagen) under tooth-like dentine projections called “odontodes”
- Assumed homologous to chondrichthyan scales and teeth
-
This is dermal bone (external hardening around connective tissue)
- Selective advantage to dermal bone?
- Protection
- Mineral storage
- Enhanced sensory reception
What is the major group of derived “Ostracoderms”?
What are their derived bony characteristics?
What key changes do they exhibit from the “ostracoderms”?
- The “cephalaspids” (extinct)
- Complex dermal bone and bony endoskeleton (unlike cartilaginous endoskeleton in “ostracoderms”)
- Derived bony characteristics (from “ostracoderms”)
- Dermal bone is cellular (rather than acellular in “ostradocerms”) - stronger
- Endoskeleton has mineralized cartilage and perichondral bone
- Paired pectoral fins
- Heterocercal tail
What are the two major synapomorphies of the Gnathostomata?
What controls the development of these synapomorphies?
-
Jaws with teeth
- Development controlled by neural crest cells
- **Two sets of paired appendages **
- Development controlled by Hox genes
Which group are considered to be stem gnathostomes?
What are some key differences between this group and the eugnathostomata?
- The Placoderms
- Thick jointed dermal bone on head and trunk
- Have jaws!
- Differences from eugnathostomata:
- No deep rooted or replacement teeth
- Pelvic fins (?)
- Autostylic jaw suspension - hyomandibula does not support jaw (nothing supports jaw - top part of jaw is attached to chondrocranium)
- Weakly developed myomeres
What are the characteristics in the eugnathostomata that are not seen in the placoderms?
- Deep rooted teeth and/or with replacement
- Amphistylic jaw suspension
- Hyomandibula does support jaw (stronger)
- Complex myomeres with epaxial and hypaxial elements
- Overall, more complex
Name nine generalized gnathostome synapomorphies
- Jaws with replacement teeth (stem group placoderms lack replacement teeth)
- Branchial (and visceral) skeleton with jointed arches and gill rakers
- Hypobranchial musculature
- Two olfactory bulbs and paired nostrils
- Spiracle
- Three semicircular canals in the inner ear
- Conus arteriosis (anterior heart chamber; “four-chambered” heart with sinus venosus, atrium, ventricle)
- Complex axial muscles with epaxial and hypaxial portions, with lateral line in between (weakly developed in stem group placoderms)
- Vertebra with neural and haemal arches, and centrum elements around or replacing the notochord
Describe the differences between an early chordate, early craniate, and gnathostome heart/aortic arches.
- Early chordate
- 6 arches (non-respiratory)
- Sinus venosus only
- Blood is all deoxygenated
- Early craniate
- 6 respiratory arches
- Atrium + ventricle + sinus venosus = three-chambered heart
- Deoxygenated blood flows through heart and up through respiratory arches, then becomes oxygenated blood
- Gnathostome
- Five respiratory arches (sixth is lost)
- Subclavian and iliac arteries
- Conus arteriosis + sinus venosus + atrium + ventricle = four-chambered heart
- The conus arteriosis decreases turbulent blood flow from other chambers
How did the mandibular arch form in early gnathostomes?
- From the first visceral arch
- Dorsal portion = the palatoquadrate cartilage
- The posterior portion of this becomes the quadrate bone
- Ventral portion = the mandibular (Meckel’s) cartilage
- The posterior portion of this becomes the articular bone
- The quadrate and articular bones ossify (endochondral bone) and become the jaw joint (same in all gnathostomes (except mammals))
- The rest of the jaw is covered in dermal bone
How did the hyoid arch form in early gnathostomes?
- From the second visceral arch
- Dorsal portion = the hyomandibula
- Functions to support the palatoquadrate
- Ventral portion = the ventral arch
- Functions to support the floor of the pharynx and mouth
What does the spiracle form from in gnathostomes?
What is derived from the spiracle and hyomandibula in tetrapods?
- From first pharyngeal pouch (retained in some fish for water passage)
- In tetrapods, eustachian tube is derived from spiracle
- Stapes derived from hyomandibula
What would be the advantage of a transitional stage in the origin of jaws?
What is Mallatt’s hypothesis with respect to the function of jaws in early gnathostomes?
- Advantage of transitional stage:
- Powerful hypobranchial muscles attach to internal arches and jaws
- This would aid in gill ventilation and opens jaws
- Mallatt’s hypothesis
- First function of jaws was muscle attachment for gill ventilation
- Secondarily modified for feeding/jaws
What are the four different jaw suspension systems?
- Ancestral autostylic (placoderms)
- Amphistylic (early gnathostomes)
- Hyostylic (modern fishes)
- Gives jaw mobility
- Secondary autostylic (ratfishes, lungfishes, tetrapods)
What kind of teeth do all crown gnathostomes have?
What type of teeth to chondrichthyes have?
What kind of teeth do osteichthyes have?
- Replaceable teeth with enamel (ectoderm) and dentine (neural crest cells)
- Chondrichthyes
- Non-rooted teeth develop deep within skin as “tooth whorls”
- Osteichthyes
- Teeth develop beneath skin (rooted)
- Embedded in dermal bone (homologous to dermal bone and chondrichthyan scales)
What are some generalized chondrichthyan synapomorphies?
- Calcified cartilaginous endoskeleton
- Loss of dermal skeleton
- Tooth whorls
- Placoid scales
- Unsegmented fin rays (ceratotrichia)
- Claspers on male pelvic fins
What type of scales do chondrichthyes have?
What type of scales do ostracoderms have?
- Chondrichthyes
- Placoid scales
- Dentine surrounded by “enameloid” (ectodermal and mesodermal elements)
- Reduces drag
- Reduced or absent in some bottom-dwelling skates and rays
- Osteichthyes
-
Ganoid scales are ancestral (heavy enamel over inflexible bone)
- E.g., sturgeons, Acanthodians, bichirs, gars
-
Elasmoid scales are derived (loss of enamel, dentine, and inflexible bone)
- Flexible bone with thin (or no) enamel
-
Ganoid scales are ancestral (heavy enamel over inflexible bone)
What does the picture below represent?
In what orders of clades would you find each of these?
- Mineralized endoskeleton structures
- Cartilage (found in hagfish, lampreys, and the early ostracoderms)
- Mineralized cartilage and perichondral bone (found in the derived ostracoderms, placoderms, and acanthodians)
- Calcified cartilage and remnant perichondral bone (found in the chondrichthyes)
- Perichondral and endochondral bone (found in the osteichthyes)
What are the differences between fin rays on the chondrichthyes and the osteichthyes?
-
Chondrichthyes
- Ceratotrichia = horny rays that develop from unsegmented, keratinized rods
- Epidermal
- Some have spines from modified placoid scales (e.g., sting rays)
-
Osteichthyes (bony fish)
- Lepidotrichia = scale rays developed from bony scales
- Many are segmented with paired bony eleents
- Very flexible (although some have inflexible spines which may be poisonous - selection for this depends on predation)
What types of teeth are these and which vertebrates would you expect to find them in?
In most vertebrates, what are the main categories of teeth?
What about in mammals?
- Pleurodont = Ancestral condition. Some fish, amphibians, and lizards
- Acrodont = Most fish and lizards
- Thecodont = Crocodiles and mammals
- Most vertebrate teeth are:
- Homodont (similar and simple cones)
- Polyphyodont (continuously replaced)
- In mammals, teeth are:
- Heterodont (variable structure and function)
- Diphyodont (two sets of teeth)
What are some generalized elasmobranch characteristics?
- Multiple gill openings
- Pectoral fin elements
- Hyostylic jaw suspension
- Pectoral fin support
- Vertebral centra
- Ventral mouth
- Changes in nervous system, cranium, and gill arches