Acorn Worm

Phylum: Hemichordata

Subphylum: Not Assigned

Class: Enteropneusta

Order: Not Assigned

Family: Harrimaniidae

Genus: Saccoglossus

Species: kowalevskii

Scientific name: Saccoglossus kowalevskii

Common name: Acorn worm

Sea Squirt

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Tunicata/Urochordata

Class: Ascidiacea

Order: Enterogona

Family: Cionidae

Genus: Ciona

Species: intestinalis

Scientific name: Ciona intestinalis

Common name: Common Sea Squirt

Amphioxus

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Cephalochordata

Class: Leptocardii

Order: Amphioxiformes

Family: Branchiostomidae

Genus: Branchiostoma

Species: lanceolatum

Scientific name: branchiostoma lanceolatum

Common name: Lancelet

Lamprey

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Agnatha

Order: Petromyzontiformes

Family: Petromyzontidae

Genus: Lampetra

Species: fluviatilis

Scientific name: Lampetra fluviatilis

Common name: River Lamprey

Shark

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Chondrichthyes

Order: Squaliformes

Family: Squalidae

Genus: Squalus

Species: acanthias

Scientific name: Squalus acanthias

Common name: Dogfish Shark

Milkfish

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Osteichthyes

Order: Gonorynchiformes

Family: Chanidae

Genus: Chanos

Species: chanos

Scientific name: Chanos chanos

Common name: Milkfish

Frog

Phylum: chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Ranidae

Genus: Lithobates

Species: Cathesbeianus

Scientific name: Lithobates Cathesbeianus

Common name: American Bullfrog

Turtle

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Testudines

Family: Cheloniidae

Genus: Chelonia

Species: mydas

Scientific name: Chelonia mydas

Common name: Green sea turtle

Chicken

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Gallus

Species: gallus

Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus

Common name: chicken

Cat

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Genus: Felis

Species: catus

Scientific name: Felis catus

Common name: cat

Characteristics:

Hemichordata:

These worm-like organisms possess a dorsal nerve cord and pharyngeal slits, allying them with the
chordates. The body (Figure 32) can be divided into three parts: the proboscis, collar and trunk. The
proboscis is typically short and conical and used in feeding by secreting a mucous to capture food and
passing it back to the mouth as well as burrowing through peristaltic movements. The collar connects
the proboscis to the trunk and bears the mouth. Pharyngeal (gill) slits are found on the trunk just
posterior to the collar.

The hemichordates are composed of two major classes the Enteropneusta and the Pterobranchia. The
enteropneusts are by far the more abundant and well known group and are commonly called acorn
worms. These sedentary animals burrow in sandy habitats and can be recognised by the coiled faecal
casts at the burrow entrance. The pterobranchs are a very obscure and rare group found mainly in deep
waters and consisting of around 15 species. They live in secreted tubes and can reproduce by asexual
budding forming dense aggregates or even interconnected colonies. The proboscis is shield shaped and
is responsible for secreting the tube as well as for locomotion within the tube. The collar has a variable
number of 'arms' with numerous small tentacles projecting from the dorsal side which are used to
capture food.

Urochordata:

The tunicates resemble common vertebrates the least, except as larvae when they vaguely resemble
tadpoles. During larval development they have a dorsal notochord, nerve cord and a ventral heart but
these are lost during development. The adults are sessile or pelagic, solitary or colonial. Typically sack-
like in appearance, tunicates get their name from the test or 'tunic' secreted by the epidermis which
envelops the internal organs. Water is drawn into the oral siphon to the large basket-like pharynx that is
suspended inside the atrium formed by the tunic. Food is sieved through slits or stigmata in the pharynx
and trapped in the mucous secreted by the endostyle, before being taken into the stomach for digestion
and the water is expelled through the atrial siphon.

Cephalochordata:

The characteristics of Cephalochordata are that they are marine animals, segmented, and that they
possess elongated bodies with a notochord that extends the length of the body and cirri surrounding the
mouth for obtaining food. In cephalochordata the notochord extends from head to tail and it persists
throughout their life.[2] The members of this subphylum are very small and have no hard parts, making
their fossils difficult to find. Fossilized species have been found in very old rocks predating vertebrates.
There is famous fossil shale from the Middle CambrianBurgess Shale of British Columbia, which has
yielded Pikaia fossils. Recently a different cephalochordate fossil (Yunnanozoon) has been found in
south China. It dates to the early Cambrian period and is the earliest known fossil of the
cephalochordate lineage.[3] They have numerous gill slits, and have separate sexes.
Agnatha:

Members of Agnatha are characterized by the absence of jaws derived from gill arches, although hagfish
and some fossil forms do have another type of biting apparatus that is not considered to have been
derived from gill arches (Nelson 1994). Other common characteristics of Agnatha that distinguish them
from the jawed fish include the absence of paired fins, the absence of pelvic fins, the presence of
a notochordboth in larvae and adults, and seven or more paired gill pouches. There is a lack of a
vertebral centrum (a thick disk-shaped part of each vertebra), the presence of one or two vertical
semicircular canals, the covering of the gills with endoderm, the gills' internal direction, the gills'
openings to the surface being through pores rather than slits, and the gills' supportive arch skeleton
being fused with neurocranium (Nelson 1994). The bronchial arches supporting the gill pouches lie close
to the body surface. There is a light sensitive pineal eye (homologous to thepineal gland in mammals).

All living and most extinct agnathans do not have an identifiable stomach or any paired appendages,
although the hagfish and lampreys do have a tail and a caudal fin. Both hagfish and lamprey have slimy
skin without scales or plates. Some extinct agnathans reveal thick body plates. The internal skeleton of
the Agnatha is not bony but rather cartilaginous (made up of dense connective tissue).

As characteristic of the class, hagfish and lampreys have a notochord that remains throughout life. This
notochord is the first primitivevertebral column. In the extant agnathans, fertilization and development
are both external, and there is no parental care. The lampreys and hagfish have circular, jawless mouths
and unpaired fins. They are ectothermic, with a cartilaginous skeleton, and the heart contains two
chambers. Being ectothermic or cold blooded, they do not have to warm themselves through eating.
Therefore, their metabolism is slow as well and they do not have to eat as much.

Although lampreys and hagfish are superficially similar, many of these similarities are probably shared
primitive characteristics of ancientvertebrates. Thus, modern classifications tend to place hagfish into a
separate group (such as the Myxini or Hyperotreti), with the lampreys(Hyperoartii) being more closely
related to the jawed fishes.

Chondrichthyes:

These fishes have teeth-like scales, denticles, which include the sharks, rays, skates and ratfishes.

Their mouth is usually located ventrally and they were the first fish to have paired fins (pectoral & pelvic
fins) for more efficient swimming.

They have 5 to 7 gill slits per side and no swim bladder.

The largest Chondrichthyes are the plankton feeders.

Interesting Facts About Sharks

Osteichthyes:

Bony fish are characterized by a relatively stable pattern of cranial bones, rooted, medial insertion
of mandibular muscle in the lower jaw. The head and pectoral girdles are covered with large dermal
bones. The eyeball is supported by a sclerotic ring of four small bones, but this characteristic has been
lost or modified in many modern species. The labyrinth in the inner ear contains large otoliths. The
braincase, or neurocranium, is frequently divided into anterior and posterior sections divided by
a fissure.

Bony fish typically have swim bladders, which helps the body create a neutral balance between sinking
and floating. However, these are absent in many species, and have developed into primitive lungs in the
lungfishes. They do not have fin spines, but instead support the fin with lepidotrichia (bone fin rays).
They also have an operculum, which helps them breathe without having to swim.

Bony fish have no placoid scales. Mucus glands coat the body. Most have smooth and overlapping scales
of that are ganoid, cycloid or ctenoid.

Amphibia:

Amphibians are cold-blooded animals, meaning they do not have a constant body temperature but
instead take on the temperature of their environment. They have moist, scaleless skin that absorbs
water and oxygen, but that also makes them vulnerable to dehydration (loss of bodily fluids). Without
moist conditions, their skin dries out and they die. Therefore, amphibians are most often found near
ponds, marshlands, swamps, and other areas where freshwater is available. Some amphibians become
inactive when conditions are unfavorable for survival. This period of inactivity is called estivation when it
occurs during hot, dry weather and hibernation when it occurs in response to cold temperatures.
Activity resumes when favorable conditions return.

The thin skin of amphibians contains many glands, among them poison glands that protect certain
species against predators. The poison from the glands of the brightly colored poison-dart frog is
particularly toxic and is used by South American Indians to coat the tips of their arrows. Some
amphibians protect themselves from enemies by changing color to blend in with their surroundings.

Reptilia:

With the evolution of terrestrial life several major adaptations were needed to face the new pressures
of life on land. The skin and scales thickened to prevent water loss, the skeleton was significantly
hardened and expanded to replace the support given by water. Reptiles as the first fully terrestrial group
lost the aquatic larval stage in favour of laying larger eggs encased in a shell and some are even
viviparous. This, coupled with the absence of gills in the adult form (gills are present during embryonic
development) is considered the fundamental difference between reptiles and amphibians.
The reptiles are a diverse group, and the three living groups, Chelonia (turtles), Lepidosauria (snakes and
lizards) and Crocodilia (crocodiles) are not closely related to each other. The birds are believed to have
evolved from reptiles.

Aves:

Birds are easily distinguished from other vertebrate groups by the presence of feathers, a horny, beaked
mouth without teeth and forelimbs modified for flight. Some less obvious features of birds include a
four chambered heart, nucleated red blood cells, hollow bones and warm bloodedness. A great deal of
avian features are modifications that enable flight. The hollow bones and the lack of teeth are efforts at
weight reduction, while the warm bloodedness allows birds to maintain muscular activity and the
feathers are for aerodynamics. The birds are a relatively compact group and in many respects resemble
reptiles, and are considered by many to be simply reptiles with feathers having descended from the
dinosaurs.

Mammalia:

The class of animals that humans belong to is characterized by the presence of mammary glands, which
secrete milk used to suckle young (a feature found nowhere else in the animal kingdom), true hair, the
temporal fenestra in the skull, cusped teeth, a four chambered heart and warm bloodedness. Another
typical feature is viviparity, the birth of live young. While this feature has repeatedly evolved in other
vertebrate and invertebrate groups; it is most widespread in mammals. The exception is in the half
dozen or so species of the monotremata (platypus and echidna) that still lay eggs that are carried by the
adult in a small pouch.