Animal Kingdom - Phylum Chordata - STUDY NOTES
Name:
Phylum Chordata is divided into three subphyla or classes:
– Urochordata
Period:
– Cephalochordata
– _______________________
What is a Chordate?
 All chordates have 4 basic features that are present at some point during their life cycle
– ___________ ___________ ___________ – Nerve cord in which nerves branch out at
regular intervals; dorsal nerve cord
– ___________ (backbone) – Long supporting rod that runs throughout body
– ___________ ___________ (gill slits )in throat
– Muscular Tail – Extends beyond anus (___________)


Only 4-5% of animals are chordates
Examples of animals from the Chordata phylum
_____________________________
Vertebrates
 Can be divided further into 5 classes
 Classes of Vertebrates include: ________________ and
________________________
ECTOTHERM: __________________________________________________
ENDOTHERM: ____________________________________________
Fish – Basic Facts
 Fish live in nearly every single ___________ ___________
 Fish are aquatic vertebrates characterized by ___________, ___________, and
___________
 Fish bring in ___________ rich water through ___________ and remove oxygen poor water
through gill slits
 ___________ circulatory system
 ___________ chambered heart
 ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
Fertilization: __________________________________________________
Groups of Fish
 ___________Fish –
– Have mouths of ___________tissue with ____ _______true teeth.
– Have no bones
– Only vertebrates with no vertebral column as adults
– Lampreys, Hagfish
 ___________–
– Skeleton built entirely of ___________
– Sharks, sea rays
 ___________–
– ___________Fish
– Majority of fish fall in this order; Carp, sea horse, perch, etc.
The Swim Bladder: _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Basic Fish Anatomy
Amphibians – Basic Facts
 Amphibian = “_________ ____________”
 Live in both _________ and ____________
 Most larvae are fishlike; adults are terrestrial carnivores
 Larvae respire through skin/gills; Adults use lungs
 Descendants of ancestral organisms that evolved some, not all, adaptations for life on land
 First appeared 360 million years ago
 ___________fertilization
 ___________circulatory system
 ___________chambered heart
Groups of Amphibians
 ___________–
– Long bodies and tails
– Adults are carnivorous
– Usually live in moist woods
 ___________and ___________–
– Lack tails
– Frogs have long legs and are usually tied to
water
– Toads have shorter legs and not as closely
tied to water
 ___________–
– Legless animals that burrow in moist soil
– Have fishlike scales
Reptiles – Basic Facts
 All reptiles have:
– __________________________ – helps prevent loss of body water in dry environments
– ____________________eggs – first animals to develop amniotic eggs that didn’t need to
be deposited in water
 Respire using _________________
 __________________ Fertilization; Most are egg-laying
 _________________ – cannot internally regulate body temperature; cannot live in cold climates
 Behavior controls body temp. (swimming, burrowing, basking, etc.)
 __________________ circulatory system; double loop;
 Heart = two atria/one or two ventricles
Groups of Reptiles
 _______________
– Shells
– Beaks (no teeth)
 ________________________ (Squamates)
– Shed Skin
– Jointed jaws/ skulls
 ___________________
– Large Snout- Big teeth
– Powerful tail
– Semi-aquatic
 ____________________
– Only 2 species (New Zealand)- most have become extinct
Birds – Basic Facts
 Nearly ________________ modern bird species
 Birds are closely related to _____________________ (scales on legs)
 Have outer covering made of __________________, two legs used for walking or perching, and
forelimbs modified into ____________________
 Feathers separate birds from all other animal species
 Feathers provide insulation for ________________________; can generate body heat
 ___________________ bones- lighter for flight
 ________________________ adapted to type of food they eat
 Highly efficient ___________________________ system; lungs only exposed to Oxygen rich air
 ____________________ fertilization; _______________________ eggs; many mate for life
Bird Groups
 Neorinthes (Modern birds) have 27 Orders of different bird groups (ex: ducks, grouse, pigeons,
pelicans, hawks, hummingbirds, owls, woodpeckers, and perching birds, etc.)
Mammals – Basic Facts
 First true mammals appeared ___________ million years ago
 Mammals flourished after dinosaurs became extinct – 65 million years ago
 Basic characteristics
– ________________
– _____________________ glands – produce milk to nourish young
– Breathe air
– _________________chambered heart
– _____________________ – can generate own body heat
– ___________________ fertilization; ________________________
Mammal Groups
 ________________________
– Lay eggs
– Duck-billed platypus and anteater
 ________________________
– Birth live young and develop in a pouch
– Kangaroos, koalas, opposums, etc.
 ________________________
– Young fully develop inside mother
– Nourished by a placenta