Biologist ___________________________
Date ______________
PowerPoint 26-2 – Chordate Evolution and Diversity
The Earliest Chordates
The Cambrian fossil deposits include some ________ chordate fossils, such as Pikaia, which is
shown in the figure.
Scientists first thought it was a ________ but then determined that it had a notochord and
paired muscles arranged in a series, like those of simple modern chordates.
Modern Chordate Diversity
Modern chordates consist of six groups: the nonvertebrate chordates (4%) and the five
groups of vertebrates (96%)—________ (largest group), amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Cladogram of Chordates
The ________ of chordates presents current hypotheses about evolutionary relationships
among chordate groups. It also shows at which points important vertebrate ________, such as jaws
and limbs, evolved.
The circles represent the appearance of certain ________ features, such as jaws and limbs,
during chordate evolution. Each time a new body plan adaptation evolved, a ________ adaptive
radiation occurred.
Nonvertebrate Chordates
Fossil evidence suggests that the ancestors of living nonvertebrate chordates diverged from
the ancestors of vertebrates more than ________ million years ago.
Two chordate groups ________ backbones: tunicates and lancelets.
Jawless Fishes
The earliest fishes appeared in the fossil record about 510 million years ago. They had no true
________ or teeth, and their skeletons were made of cartilage.
Lampreys and hagfishes both ________ vertebrae and have notochords as adults.
Lampreys are filter feeders as larvae and parasites as adults.
Hagfishes have pinkish gray, wormlike bodies, secrete incredible amounts of slime, and tie
themselves into ________!
Sharks and Their Relatives
Early fishes also evolved ________, paired pectoral (anterior) and pelvic (posterior) fins.
Jaws make it possible to bite and chew plants and other animals, paired fins offered more
________ of body movement, while tail fins and powerful muscles gave greater thrust.
Bony Fishes - Ray & Lobe-Finned
Ray-finned fishes are aquatic vertebrates with skeletons of true ________; most have paired
fins, scales, and gills.
Lobe-finned fishes are bony fishes that evolved fleshy fins supported by larger, more
substantial bones. Ancestors of four-limbed vertebrates, or ________.
Amphibians
Amphibians are vertebrates that also, with some exceptions, require ________ for
reproduction, breathe with lungs as adults, have moist skin with mucous glands, and lack scales and
claws.
The Unique “Fishapod”
The Tiktaalik fossil shows both ________ and ________ features, so its discoverers informally refer to
it as a “fishapod”—part fish, part tetrapod.
Early amphibians evolved ways to ________ air and protect themselves from drying out, which fueled
another adaptive radiation.
Reptiles
Reptiles were the first vertebrates to evolve adaptations to ________ conditions.
A reptile is a vertebrate with dry, scaly skin, well-developed lungs, strong limbs, and shelled
eggs that do not develop in ________.
Terrestrial Adaptations include: vertebrate with ________, scaly skin, well-developed lungs, strong
limbs, and shelled eggs that do not develop in ________.
Enter the Dinosaurs
The Triassic and Jurassic periods saw a great adaptive radiation of ________. Dinosaurs lived
all over the world, and they were diverse in appearance and in habit.
The evolutionary lineage that led to modern birds came from one group of ________
dinosaurs.
Exit the Dinosaurs
At the end of the Cretaceous Period, a worldwide mass ________ occurred. According to
current hypotheses, it was caused by a series of natural disasters: a string of volcanic eruptions, a
fall in sea level, and a huge asteroid smashing into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
After these events, dinosaurs, along with many other animal and plant groups, became
________ both on land and in the sea.
Birds
Birds are reptiles that regulate their internal body temperature (________.)
They have an outer covering of ________; strong yet lightweight bones; two legs covered with
scales that are used for walking or perching; and front limbs modified into wings.
Bird Roots
Recent fossil discoveries support the hypothesis that birds evolved from a group of ________.
The first birdlike ________ discovered was Archaeopteryx, which shows both bird
characteristics (flight feathers) and dinosaur characteristics (teeth and bony tail).
Mammals
Characteristics unique to mammals include mammary glands in females that produce ________
to nourish young, and hair.
Mammals also breathe air, have four-chambered ________, and regulate their internal body
temperature.
The First Mammals
They were very small and resembled modern tree ________.
While dinosaurs ruled, mammals remained generally small and were probably active mostly at
________.
After the great dinosaur extinction, mammals diversified, increased in ________, and
occupied many niches.
Modern Mammals
By the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, three major groups of mammals had evolved—________,
________, and ________.