Diversity

III
Campbell Chapter
The Chordates
 Phylum chordata (the chordates)
Shared derived characteristics:
Notochord
Dorsal hollow nerve cord
Post-anal tail
Pharyngeal slits or cleft
Some species have some of these
traits only during embryonic
development
The origin of vertebrates
Early in Cambrian period, about
530 million years ago,
astonishing variety of
invertebrate animals inhabited
Earths oceans
One type of animal gave rise to
vertebrates, one of most
successful groups
Animals called vertebrates get
their name from vertebrae, the Haikouichthys an early vertebrate from 530 mya
series of bones that make up
backbone
Phylum chordata (the chordates)
Phylum chordata (the chordates)
Notochord is a longitudinal, flexible rod between digestive tube and nerve cord
Provides skeletal support throughout most of the length of a chordate
In most vertebrates, a more complex, jointed skeleton develops, and adult retains only
remnants of embryonic notochord
Nerve cord develops into central nervous system: brain and spinal cord
In most chordates, grooves in pharynx called pharyngeal clefts develop into slits
that open to the outside of body
Functions of pharyngeal slits
Suspension-feeding structures in many invertebrate chordates
Gas exchange in vertebrates (except vertebrates with limbs, the tetrapods)
Develop into parts of the ear, head, and neck in tetrapods
Chordates have a tail posterior to anus
In many species, tail greatly reduced during embryonic development
Tail contains skeletal elements and muscles and provides propelling force in many aquatic
species
 The invertebrate chordates: Lancelet

Lancelets are Marine

suspension feeders that
retain characteristics of
chordate body plan as
adults.
They form the sister
group of the vertebrates
and
 The vertebrates
Shared derived characteristics
Vertebrae enclosing a spinal
cord
An elaborate skull
Fin rays, in the aquatic forms
A heart with at least two
chambers,
Red blood cells with
hemoglobin
Kidneys

Note there is only one group of living animal with a skull that is not considered a vertebrates: the Hagfish. For that
reason craniate and vertebrates are sometimes used interchangeably.
The vertebrates
During Cambrian period, a
lineage of craniates
evolved into vertebrates
Vertebrates became more
efficient at capturing food
and avoiding being eaten
Lampreys are the only
living jawless vertebrates.
They have rudimentary
vertebrae
Jawed vertebrates
Jawed vertebrates, or gnathostomes
include sharks and their relatives, ray-
finned fishes, lobe-finned fishes,
amphibians, reptiles (including birds), and
mammals.
Their shared derived characteristics
include
An enlarged forebrain associated with
enhanced smell and vision
The lateral line system, which is sensitive to
vibrations (in aquatic species only)
Gnathostomes have jaws that might have
evolved from skeletal supports of the
pharyngeal slits
Jawed vertebrates
Jawed vertebrates
Three lineages of jawed
vertebrates survive
today: chondrichthyans
(shark and rays), ray-
finned fishes (most fish),
and lobe-fins (a few fish
and tetrapods)
Tetrapods
Shared derived characteristics:
Four limbs, and feet with digits
A neck, which allows separate
movement of the head
Fusion of pelvic girdle to
backbone
Absence of gills (except some
aquatic species)
Ears for detecting airborne sounds
The first tetrapods appeared
365 million years ago
Living classes of tetrapods are:
amphibians, reptiles (including
birds) and the mammals,
 Amniotes
Shared derived characteristics:
Amniotic egg, which contains
membranes that protect embryo
(amnion, chorion, yolk sac, and
allantois)
Amniotes are a group of
tetrapods whose living members
are the reptiles, including birds,
and mammals
Mammals
Mammals
Shared derived characteristics:
Mammary glands, which
produce milk
Hair
A high metabolic rate, due to
endothermy (capable of
keeping the body warm through
metabolism)
A larger brain than other
vertebrates of equivalent size
Differentiated teeth
 Mammals
There are 5300 species of mammals alive today.
Three living lineages
Monotremes: are a small group of egg-laying mammals consisting of echidnas
and the platypus
Marsupials: include opossums, kangaroos, and koalas
Embryo develops within a placenta in the mothers uterus
A marsupial born very early in its development
Completes embryonic development while nursing in a maternal pouch called marsupium
Eutherians (Placental mammals)
Compared with marsupials, eutherians have a more complex placenta
Young eutherians complete their embryonic development within uterus,
joined to mother by placenta
Mammals: Monotreme & Marsupials
 Evolution Vol.19 No.8 August 2004 433

(b)
Monotremata
Marsupialia

Afrosoricida

Macroscelidea

Tubulidentata
Proboscidea
Afrotheria

Anagalida
Hyracoidea

Sirenia
Xenarthra
Xenarthra

Dermoptera

Archonta
Mammals: Eutherians

Scandentia

Primates
Lagomorpha
Euarchontoglires

Rodentia

Eulipotyphla

Carnivora

Pholidota
Ungulata

Perissodactyla
Laurasiatheria

Cetartiodactyla
Chiroptera

TRENDS in Ecology & Evolution

(b) of the placental orders. (a) Morphology generally places Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters
ished clades: Ungulata (thought to be derived from CONDYLARTH ancestors, Archonta and
d by Liu et al. [4] is identical, apart from placing cetaceans as sister group to the perisso-
p Eutheria&contgroup Mammalia) places Pholidota (pangolins) as basal sister to
ses several clades (black dotted lines). Novacek [5] subsequently collapses some further
(b) The molecular tree recognizes four major clades: Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Laurasiatheria
esented placental ordinal topology is according to Murphy et al. [21]. Placing Marsupialia
Clades indicated by solid lines are, with rare exceptions, supported independently by all
 (b)
Monotremata
Marsupialia

Afrosoricida

Macroscelidea

Tubulidentata
Proboscidea

Afrotheria
Hyracoidea

Sirenia
Xenarthra

Xenarthra
Dermoptera

Scandentia

Primates
Lagomorpha

Euarchontoglires
Rodentia

Eulipotyphla

Carnivora

Pholidota

Perissodactyla
Laurasiatheria

Cetartiodactyla
Chiroptera

TRENDS in Ecology & Evolution

) of the placental orders. (a) Morphology generally places Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters
hed clades: Ungulata (thought to be derived from CONDYLARTH ancestors, Archonta and
by Liu et al. [4] is identical, apart from placing cetaceans as sister group to the perisso-
Eutheria&contgroup Mammalia) places Pholidota (pangolins) as basal sister to
es several clades (black dotted lines). Novacek [5] subsequently collapses some further
) The molecular tree recognizes four major clades: Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Laurasiatheria
sented placental ordinal topology is according to Murphy et al. [21]. Placing Marsupialia
lades indicated by solid lines are, with rare exceptions, supported independently by all
ncy of mitochondrial protein sequences to place hedgehogs and rodents as basal in the

separate hippos from other Suiformes (e.g. pigs) [10]. In

Eulipotyphla, shrews and hedgehogs group to the exclu-
sion of moles [25,34]. This result contrasts with morpho-
logical hypotheses that favor either moles shrews to
the exclusion of hedgehogs or moles hedgehogs to the
exclusion of shrews. In Rodentia, molecular data suggest a
novel mouse-related clade that includes murids (mice and
rats), dipodids (jerboas), castorids (beavers), geomyids
(pocket gophers), heteromyids (pocket mice), anomalurids
(scaly-tailed flying squirrels), and pedetids (springhares)
[35]. This group had never been proposed based on
morphological and paleontological data. Within Chirop-
tera (bats), both nuclear and mitochondrial sequences
favor microbat paraphyly, which has profound impli-
cations for understanding the origins of laryngeal echolo-
cation (Box 2).

The deployment of morphological character evolution

Darwin [36] recognized that ANALOGICAL or adaptive
characters would be almost valueless to the systematist
Primates
Primates
Shared derived characters of
primates:
A large brain and short jaws
Forward-looking eyes close
together on face, providing depth
perception
Complex social behaviour and
parental care
Fully opposable thumb (monkeys
and apes)
Most primates have hands and
feet adapted for grasping, and flat
nails
Primates
Three main groups of living primates
Lemurs, lorises, and pottos
Tarsiers
Anthropoids (monkeys and apes)
Oldest known anthropoid fossils, about 45
million years old, indicate tarsiers more
closely related to anthropoids than to
lemurs
The first monkeys evolved in the Old World
(Africa and Asia)
Apes includes gibbons, orangutans, gorillas,
chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans
Apes diverged from Old World monkeys
about 2025 million years ago
Non-humans apes are gibbons, chimps,
bonobos, gorillas and orangutans
Genus Homo
Shared derived characteristics:
Upright posture and bipedal
locomotion
Larger brains capable of language,
symbolic thought, artistic
expression, the manufacture and
use of complex tools
Reduced jawbones and jaw muscles
Shorter digestive tract
The species Homo sapiens about
200,000 years old.
Human evolution
The study of human origins
known as paleoanthropology
Hominins are apes that are
more closely related to
humans than to chimpanzees
Paleoanthropologists
discovered fossils of about 20
species of extinct hominins
Based on genetic data, the
common ancestor of H.
sapiens and Pan lived 5 to 7
Mya
Human evolution
The genus Homo appears to have evolved
from Australopiths
Australopiths form a paraphyletic
assemblage of hominins living between
4 and 2 million years ago
Some species, such as Australopithecus
afarensis (Lucy) walked fully erect

Human evolution
Earliest fossils placed in our genus
Homo are those of Homo habilis,
ranging in age from about 2.4 to
1.6 million years
Stone tools have been found with
H. habilis, giving this species its
name, which means handy man
The oldest evidence of tool use,
cut marks on animal bones, is 2.5
million years old
Human evolution
Homo erectus originated in Africa by 1.8 million
years ago
It was the first hominin to leave Africa
Human evolution
Neanderthals, Homo
neanderthalensis, lived in Europe
and the Near East from 350,000 to
28,000 years ago
It appears to have evolved from H.
erectus in Europe
They were thick-boned with a larger
brain, they buried their dead, and
they made hunting tools
Debate ongoing about extent to
which genetic material exchanged
between neanderthals and Homo
sapiens
Human Evolution
Homo sapiens appeared in Africa by
195,000 years ago
All living humans descended from these
African ancestors
The oldest fossils of Homo sapiens
outside Africa date back about 115,000
years and are from the Middle East
Humans first arrived in the New World
sometime before 15,000 years ago
Homo sapiens were the first group to
show evidence of symbolic and
sophisticated thought
Human Evolution