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What are the 3 Subphyla of Chordata?

Author

Robert Miller

Published Feb 28, 2026

What are the 3 Subphyla of Chordata?

The prevailing view holds that the phylum Chordata consists of three subphyla: Urochordata (Tunicata), Cephalochordata and Vertebrata (figure 1a).

What is the evolutionary history of Chordata?

The fossil record of chordates begins in the early Cambrian period, roughly 530 million years ago. Chordate evolution, like that of arthropods, includes major habitat transitions from marine to land environments and, eventually, to the air.

What are Protochordates?

Protochordates are an informal category of animals (i.e.: not a proper taxonomic group), named mainly for convenience to describe invertebrate animals that are closely related to vertebrates. These animals have pharyngeal gill slits and a dorsal nerve cord, which is usually solid.

What are the 5 Subphyla of chordates?

These 5 synapomorphies include a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail. Chordates get their name from their characteristic “notochord”, which plays a significant role in chordate structure and movement.

What is the phylogenetic relationship between chordates and other animal lineages?

Echinodermata and Hemichordate are in close relation with the chordates on a phylogenetic basis. Stomochord is present in hemichordates that is analogous to notochord among chordate. Both chordates and hemichordates are deuterostomes. For this reason, certain zoologists believe that they share a triploblastic ancestor.

What are the 7 classes of phylum Chordata?

Terms in this set (7)

  • agnatha. jawless fish: lamprey and hagfish.
  • chondrichthyes. cartilage fish: sharks, skates, rays.
  • osteichthyes. bony fish: yellow perch.
  • amphibia. salamanders, toads, frogs.
  • reptilia. turtles, crocodiles/alligators, lizards, snakes.
  • aves. birds.
  • mammalia. mammals.

Where did chordates first evolve?

The fossil record of chordates begins in the early Cambrian period, roughly 530 million years ago. The oldest known chordate fossil was found in China and described in 1995.

What is phylogeny of Protochordates?

Protochordata describes two invertebrate chordate subphyla, the Tunicata (Urochordata) and the Cephalochordata. However, molecular phylogenies show only weak support for the Tunicata as the sister-group to the rest of the chordates, suggesting that they are highly divergent from the Cephalochordata and Vertebrata.

What is Protochordata example?

Acorn worm
PterobranchiaGraptolithinaPlanctosphaeroidea
Hemichordate/Lower classifications

What are the 5 chordate characteristics?

Animals in the phylum Chordata share five key chacteristics that appear at some stage during their development: a notochord, a dorsal hollow (tubular) nerve cord, pharyngeal gill arches or slits, a post-anal tail, and an endostyle/thyroid gland (Figure 2).

Do chordates have a vertebral column?

Phylum chordata: All chordates are deuterostomes, possessing a notochord. Vertebrates are differentiated by having a vertebral column.

Why are echinoderms and chordates closely related?

Echinoderms are the most closely related phylum to the phylum Chordata, which includes many complex organisms such as humans. Their shared common ancestor was likely a bilaterally symmetrical organism with a cephalized (centralized in a head region) nervous system.

What is the phylogeny of Ascomycota?

OVERVIEW OF THE PYHLOGENY OF THE ASCOMYCOTA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PATHOGENS The Ascomycota includes fungi ranging from yeasts, including baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Meyen ex Hansen, to molds including Penicillium and Aspergillus.

When did the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota diverge?

Using an 18S rRNA phylogeny and assuming a molecular clock, Berbee and Taylor [5] estimated that the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota diverged 400 million years ago. Other analyses have Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology (2001) 59, 165–187 doi:10.1006/pmpp.2001.0355, available online at on

What is the phylum of Chordata?

The Chordata, together with the phyla Echinodermata and Hemichordata, comprise a major group, the Deuterostomia. Chordates invariably possess a notochord and a dorsal neural tube.

What diseases are caused by ascomycetes?

Many destructive plant pathogens, causing diseases including wheat scab and Dutch elm disease, are ascomycetes. Human pathogens including the etiological agent of thrush, the yeast Candida albicans, and the dermatophytes causing athlete’s foot are also asco- mycetes.