HEMICHORDATA AND

INVERTEBRATE CHORDATES

Concepts
1. Members of the phyla Echinodermata, Hemichordata, and Chordata are probably derived from a
common diploblastic or triploblastic ancestor.
2. The phylum Hemichordata includes the acorn worms (class Enteropneusta) and the pterobranchs
(class Pterobranchia). Hemichordates live in or on marine substrates and feed on sediment or
suspended organic matter.
3. Animals in the phylum Chordata are characterized by a notochord, pharyngeal slits or pouches, a
dorsal tubular nerve cord, and a postanal tail.
4. The urochordates are marine and are called tunicates. They are attached or planktonic, and solitary or
colonial as adults. All are filter feeders.
5. Members of the subphylum Cephalochordata are called lancelets. They are filter feeders that spend
most of their time partly buried in marine substrates.
6. Motile, fishlike chordates may have evolved from sedentary, filter-feeding ancestors as a result of
paedomorphosis in a motile larval stage

Concept of classification:
CLASSIFICATION OF THE HEMICHORDATA AND CHORDATA
Phylum Hemichordata (hemi-kor-datah)
Widely distributed in shallow, marine, tropical waters and deep, cold waters; soft bodied and wormlike;
epidermal nervous system; most
with pharyngeal slits.
Class Enteropneusta (enter-op-nustah)
Shallow-water, wormlike animals; inhabit burrows on sandy shorelines; body divided into three regions:
proboscis, collar, and trunk.
Acorn worms (Balanoglossus, Saccoglossus). About 70 species.
Class Pterobranchia (tero-brangke-ah)
With or without pharyngeal slits; two or more arms; often colonial, living in an externally secreted
encasement. Rhabdopleura. About
20 species.
Class Planctosphaeroidea (plankto-sfer-roide-ah)
Spherical body with ciliary bands covering the surface; U-shaped digestive tract; coelom poorly
developed; planktonic. Only one
species is known to exist (Planctosphaera pelagica).
Phylum Chordata (kor-datah) (L. chorda, cord)
Occupy a wide variety of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. A notochord, pharyngeal slits, a
dorsal tubular nerve cord, and a
postanal tail are all present at some time in chordate life histories.
About 45,000 species.
Subphylum Urochordata (uro-kor-datah)
Notochord, nerve cord, and postanal tail present only in freeswimming larvae; adults sessile, or
occasionally planktonic, and
enclosed in a tunic that contains some cellulose; marine. Sea squirts or tunicates.
Class Ascidiacea (as-ide-ase-ah)
All sessile as adults; solitary or colonial; colony members interconnected by stolons.
Class Appendicularia (a-pendi-ku-lare-ah)
(Larvacea) (lar-vase-ah)
Planktonic; adults retain tail and notochord; lack a cellulose tunic; epithelium secretes a gelatinous
covering of the body.
Class Sorberacea (sorber-ase-ah)
Ascidian-like urochordates possessing dorsal nerve cords as adults; deep water, benthic; carnivorous.
Octacnemus.
Class Thaliacea (tale-ase-ah)
Planktonic; adults are tailless and barrel shaped; oral and atrial openings are at opposite ends of the
tunicate; muscular contractions of the body wall produce water currents.
Subphylum Cephalochordata (sefa-lo-kor-datah)
Body laterally compressed and transparent; fishlike; all four chordate characteristics persist throughout
life. Amphioxus (Branchiostoma).
About 45 species.
Subphylum Vertebrata (verte-bratah)
Notochord, nerve cord, postanal tail, and pharyngeal slits present at least in embryonic stages;
vertebrae surround nerve cord and
serve as primary axial support; skeleton modified anteriorly into a skull for protection of the brain.
Class Cephalaspidomorphi (sefah-laspe-do-morfe)
Fishlike; jawless; no paired appendages; cartilaginous skeleton; sucking mouth with teeth and rasping
tongue. Lampreys.
Class Myxini (miks˘ ı-ne)
Fishlike; jawless; no paired appendages; mouth with four pairs of tentacles; olfactory sacs open to
mouth cavity; 5 to 15 pairs of
pharyngeal slits. Hagfishes.
Class Chondrichthyes (kon-drikthi-es)
Fishlike; jawed; paired appendages and cartilaginous skeleton; no swim bladder. Skates, rays, sharks.
Class Osteichthyes (oste-ikthe-es)
Bony skeleton; swim bladder and operculum present. Bony fishes.
Class Amphibia (am-fibe-ah)
Skin with mucoid secretions; possess lungs and/or gills; moist skin serves as respiratory organ; aquatic
developmental stages
usually followed by metamorphosis to an adult. Frogs, toads, salamanders.
Class Reptilia (rep-tile-ah)
Dry skin with epidermal scales; amniotic eggs; terrestrial embryonic development. Snakes, lizards,
alligators.
Class Aves (avez)
Scales modified into feathers for flight; efficiently regulate body temperature (endothermic); amniotic
eggs. Birds.
Class Mammalia (mah-male-ah)
Bodies at least partially covered by hair; endothermic; young nursed from mammary glands; amniotic
eggs. Mammals.