Title: Phylum Chordata
1Phylum Chordata
- The chordates are a group of particular interest
to us as we belong to it, being members of the
subphylum Vertebrata. - The chordates include all of the vertebrates
(fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds),
but also two non-vertebrate subphyla the
Urochordata and the Cephalochordata.
2Phylum Chordata
- The chordates were in the 19th century considered
to have been derived from protostome ancestors
(the annelid, mollusc, arthropod group). - However, a better understanding of embryology
shows that chordates are deuterostomes and the
invertebrates they are most closely related to
are the Echinodermata (sea stars, sand dollars,
sea urchins) and the Hemichordata (acorn worms).
3Protostomes and Deuterostomes
- Within the eucoelomates there are two major
evolutionary lineages that split early in the
history of animals and follow quite different
developmental pathways. - These are the protostomes mouth first and
deuterostomes mouth second.
4Important differences in development between
protostomes and deuterostomes
- The differences in development that distinguish
the protostomes and deuterostomes include - Whether cleavage of cells in the early zygote is
spiral or radial. - Whether or not, if the early blastomere is
separated, each cell can develop into a normal
larva or not. - Whether the blastopore ultimately forms the mouth
or anus of the organism. - Whether or not the organism possesses a coelom
and how that coelom is formed.
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7Protostomes and Deuterostomes
- Protostomes include the annelids, mollusks, and
arthropods. - Deuterostomes include the echinoderms and
Chordates, which includes the vertebrates.
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11Characteristics of the Chordata
- Chordates are
- bilaterally symmetrical
- triploblastic
- have a well developed coelom
- have a complete digestive system
12Germ layers of a triploblastic organism
- Endoderm innermost germ layer of an embryo.
Forms the gut, liver, pancreas. - Ectoderm Outer layer of cells in early embryo.
Surrounds the blastocoel. Forms outer epithelium
of body and nervous system. - Mesoderm Third germ layer formed in gastrula
between ectoderm and endoderm. The coelom forms
in the mesoderm. Mesoderm gives rise to
connective tissue, muscle, urogenital and
vascular systems and peritoneum.
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14Coeloms
- The coelom is a cavity entirely surrounded by
mesoderm. - A coelom provides a tube-within-a-tube
arrangement which has many advantages - Allows visceral organs to grow independently of
the body wall - fluid-filled coelom acts as a hydrostatic
skeleton in some animals. - In mammals the pericardial, peritoneal, and
pleural cavities are formed from the coelom.
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16Five distinctive characteristics of the chordates
- Five distinctive characteristics separate the
chordates from all other phyla - Notochord
- Single, dorsal, tubular nerve cord
- Pharyngeal pouches or slits
- Endostyle
- Postanal tail
- Not all of these characteristics are apparent in
adult organisms and may appear only in the
embryonic or larval stages.
17Notochord
- Notochord the notochord is a flexible, rodlike
structure. It extends the length of the body and
is an anchor point for muscles. - The notochord bends without shortening so it
permits the animal to undulate.
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19Notochord
- In nonvertebrates and the jawless vertebrates the
notochord is present throughout life. - However, in the jawed vertebrates it is replaced
by the vertebral column the remnants of the
notochord being found in the intervertebral
disks.
20Single, dorsal, tubular nerve cord
- In most invertebrates the nerve cord, if present,
is ventral to the gut. - In chordates, in contrast, the nerve cord is
dorsal to the gut and notochord. The nerve cord
passes through the neural arches of the
vertebrae, which protect it. - The nerve cord is enlarged in vertebrates into a
brain, which is surrounded by a bony or
cartilaginous cranium.
21Pharyngeal pouches and slits
- Pharyngeal slits occur in aquatic chordates and
lead from the pharyngeal cavity to the outside. - The pharyngeal slits are used as a filter feeding
device in protochordates (i.e., Urochordata
(Tunicates)) and Cephalochordata (lancelets e.g.
Amphioxus). - Water containing food is drawn in through the
mouth by cilia and exits via the pharyngeal slits
where the particles are trapped in mucus.
22Amphioxus
23Pharyngeal pouches and slits
- In vertebrates the pharyngeal arches have been
modified into gills by the addition of a rich
blood supply and thin gas permeable walls. - The contraction of muscles in the pharynx drive
water through the gills.
24Pharyngeal pouches and slits
- In amniotes an opening may not form and rather
than slits only grooves called pharyngeal pouches
develop. - In tetrapods these pouches give rise during
development to a variety of structures including
the middle ear cavity, eustachian tube, and
tonsils.
25Endostyle or thyroid gland
- The endostyle is found in protochordates and in
lamprey larvae. It is located on the floor of
the pharynx and secretes mucus, which is used to
trap particles. - The endostyle works with the pharyngeal slits in
filter feeding.
26Endostyle or thyroid gland
- Some cells in the endostyle secrete iodinated
proteins and are homologous with
iodinated-hormone secreting thyroid gland, which
is found in adult lampreys and vertebrates.
27Postanal tail
- The postanal tail, some musculataure and the
notochord enable larval tunicates and amphioxus
to swim. - The postanal tail evolved to allow organisms to
swim and its efficiency has been enhanced by the
addition of fins. The postanal tail is present
only in vestigial form in humans (the coccyx)
although tails as a whole are widespread among
vertebrates.
28Amphioxus
29Classification of the Chordata
- There are three subphyla in the Chordata
- Subphylum Urochordata tunicates
- Subphylum Cephalochordata lancelets
- Subphylum Vertebrata fish, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, mammals, etc.
30Subphylum Urochordata
- The Urochordata (tunicates named for the tough
tunic that surrounds the adult) look like most
unpromising candidates to be chordates and
relatives of the vertebrates. - The largest group, the ascidians or sea squirts
(Class Ascidiacea) as adults are marine, sessile,
filter feeding organisms that live either
solitarily or in colonies.
31Ciona intestinalis (a solitary sea squirt)
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33Synoicum pulmonaria a colonial sea squirt
34Ascidians
- Adult ascidians lack a notochord and there is
only a single ganglion in place of the dorsal
nerve cord. - Of the five characteristics of chordates adults
possess only two pharyngeal gill slits and an
endostyle, both of which they use in filter
feeding.
35Ascidians
- The adult sea squirt draws water in through an
incurrent siphon and pushes it back out an
excurrent one. - Food particles are filtered out in the pharyngeal
slits with mucus from the endostyle used to trap
particles.
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37Larval Ascidian
- Even though the adult ascidian hardly resembles a
chordate its larva does. - Larval ascidians are very small and tadpole-like
and possess all five chordate characteristics
previously outlined.
38Young larval ascidian
39Larval Ascidian
- The larval ascidians role is to disperse and to
achieve this it is free swimming. However, it
has only a short larval life (minutes to a couple
of days) and does not feed during this time. - Instead it searches for a place to settle and
then attaches and metamorphoses into an adult.
40Ascidian metamorphosis
- During metamorphosis the notochord disappears,
the nerve cord is reduced to a single nerve
ganglion and a couple of nerves.
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42Other Urochordate classes
- Besides the ascidians there are two other classes
of the Urochordata the Larvacea and Thaliacea. - Both are small, transparent planktonic forms.
Thaliaceans are cylindrical or spindle shaped
whereas larvaceans are tadpolelike and resemble
an ascidian larva.
43Garstangs hypothesis of chordate larval evolution
- In the 1920s it was proposed that the
vertebrates were derived from an ancestral
ascidian that retained its characteristics into
adulthood (the process by which juvenile
characteristics are retained into adulthood is
referred to as paedomorphosis).
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45Garstangs hypothesis of chordate larval evolution
- Garstangs hypothesis is supported by
embryological evidence, but more recently
molecular analyses have suggested that sessile
ascidians are a derived form and that the
free-living larvaceans are more likely to be the
closest relatives of the chordates.
46Subphylum Cephalochordata
- The cephalochordates are the lancelets, which are
small (3-7 cm long) laterally compressed fishlike
animals that inhabit sandy sediments of coastal
waters. They lack a distinct head and have no
cranium. - They are commonly referred to as Amphioxus as
this was the original genus name. There are 29
species, five of which occur in North American
coastal waters.
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48Amphioxus
- Amphioxus is a filter feeder.
- Water enters the mouth and then passes through
the pharyngeal slits, where food is trapped in
mucus. Cilia then move the food to the gut.
49Amphioxus
50Amphioxus
- Amphioxus is interesting because it displays the
basic chordate characteristics in a simple and
obvious form because of its transparency. - Amphioxus is considered to be the closest living
relative of the vertebrates because it shares
several characteristics with vertebrates that
Urochordates do not possess.
51Amphioxus characteristics shared with vertebrates
- Characteristics amphioxus shares with vertebrates
include - Segmented myomeres (muscle blocks)
- Dorsal and ventral aortas
- Branchial (gill) arches (blood vessels running
over the gills).
52Characteristics of vertebrates not possessed by
Amphioxus
- Amphioxus however lacks several characteristics
that biologists think the ancestor of vertebrates
possessed. These include - Tripartite brain (with forebrain, midbrain and
hindbrain) protected by a cranium - Chambered heart
- Muscular gut and pharynx
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53Characteristics of vertebrates not possessed by
Amphioxus
- Various special sensory organs (eyes, chemical
and pressure receptors) - Neural crest (ectodermal cells that are found on
the embryonic neural tube and are engaged in the
formation of the cranium, tooth dentine, some
endocrine glands and Schwann cells, provide
myelin insulation to nerve cells).