Question

Name the characteristic features of subphulum chordate

Answer 1

The characteristic features of subphulum chordate are :-

A notochord at some time during development.

Pharyngeal gill slits at some time during development

A muscular post-anal tail at some during development.

Answer 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHORDATES

Four distinctive derived characteristics of chordates distinguish them from their ancestors:

A. Notochord, or a rod of vacuolated cells, encased by a firm sheath that lies ventral to the neural tube in vertebrate embryos and some adults.

B. Hollow nerve cord that lies dorsal to the notochord

C. Pharyngeal pouches

D. Endostyle - elongated groove in the pharynx floor of protochordates that may develop as the thyroid gland in chordates

In the subphylum Vertebrata, all members possess the four chordate characteristics at some time in development, but often these structures are altered significantly in adult animals.

These four characteristics may be found in some of the ancestors of chordates and are commonly placed in an informal grouping called Protochordates. These serve as living representations of the missing fossils in vertebrate evolution.