Chordata
Notochord-bearing animals
Chordata is the phylum of animals possessing a notochord—a flexible rod along the back that in most species develops into a vertebral column.
The group includes all vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
A few primitive chordates like sea squirts and lancelets retain the notochord throughout life.
Humans belong to the phylum Chordata.
Embryonic axial support structure
- spinal columnSegmented skeletal axis
- backboneVertebral column, or courage
- neural tubeEmbryonic nervous system precursor
- body planOrganism's fundamental structural arrangement
segmentation · thyroid · vertebral column · cartilage · bilateral symmetry · coelom · mesoderm
Major classification rank
- vertebratesAnimals with internal skeletons
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
- animaliaKingdom of multicellular consumers
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
clade · subphylum · kingdom · bilateral · taxonomy · notochord · species · class
Hair-bearing, milk-producing animals
- fishGilled aquatic vertebrate
- amphibiansVertebrates with aquatic larvae
- reptilesCold-blooded scaly vertebrates
- birdsEgg-laying flying vertebrates
hagfish · lampreys · sharks · sea squirts · jawless fish · tetrapods · ray-finned · cartilaginous
Earliest Paleozoic period
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
adaptation · transitional · Burgess Shale · origin · primitive · derived · homology · phylogenetics
notochord
Embryonic axial support structure
- spinal columnSegmented skeletal axis
- backboneVertebral column, or courage
- neural tubeEmbryonic nervous system precursor
body plan · segmentation · thyroid · vertebral column · cartilage · bilateral symmetry · coelom · mesoderm
phylum
Major classification rank
- vertebratesAnimals with internal skeletons
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
- animaliaKingdom of multicellular consumers
classification · clade · subphylum · kingdom · bilateral · taxonomy · notochord · species · class · order
mammals
Hair-bearing, milk-producing animals
- fishGilled aquatic vertebrate
- amphibiansVertebrates with aquatic larvae
- reptilesCold-blooded scaly vertebrates
birds · hagfish · lampreys · sharks · sea squirts · jawless fish · tetrapods · ray-finned · cartilaginous · bony fish
Cambrian
Earliest Paleozoic period
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
divergence · adaptation · transitional · Burgess Shale · origin · primitive · derived · homology · phylogenetics · speciation
- phylaArthropoda, Mollusca, Platyhelminthes
- taxonomygenus, species, taxon, kingdom, phylum
ChordataArthropoda
Jointed-limbed invertebrate phylum
Mollusca · invertebrates · Platyhelminthes · jellyfish · insects