Chapter 1: What are Chordates?

 They are bilaterian animals that belong to clade of animals

known as Deuterostomia.

 The word ‘’chordata’’ is derived from two Gr words. i.e. “

noto” means “back” , and “chorda” means “string” or
“chord”.

 The phylum chordata derived its name from the presence of

the structure notochord at some stage of their life cycle.

 Hence, Chordates are defined as organisms that possess a

structure called a notochord at least during some part of their
development.
Phylum Chordata comprises 4 subphylum: i.e.
1. Subphylum Hemichordate (Acorn worm/ half
chordate).
2. Subphylum Urochordates (Tunicates/ Tail chordate),
3. Subphylum Cephalochordates (Lancelets ) and
4. Subphylum Vertebrata (Craniata),
• Chordates have bilaterally symmetrical bodies,
• Chordates other than craniates includes entirely
aquatic forms.
• Chordate are found in both aquatic and on land
environments.
 What are the distinguishing features of
chordates?
• The four distinctive features or hallmarks of all
chordates at least at some stag of their life are the
following:
Presence of notochord
Presence of the dorsal tubular nerve cord
Presence of the paired pharyngeal gill slits , and
Post-anal tail
Endostyle……which is recently added feature.
 These features may be persistent, altered or disappear in
the later stages of the life cycle.
Body Outline of Chordates
1. Notochord
 Notochord (Gr. noton, the back; L. chorda, cord) is a
flexible, rod like structure extending the length of the
body.
 It is the first part of the endoskeleton to appear in the
embryo.
 Lies dorsal to the alimentary canal and ventral to the
nerve cord.
 It is partly or entirely replaced by cartilage or bones in
most vertebrates but it persists throughout the life of
protochordates and jaw less vertebrates.
 In most vertebrates it is displaced by vertebrae. The
remains of the notochord exist as disks between the
vertebrae.
 Importance of Notochord
 Allows flexibility along the long axis of the body.

 It is a hydrostatic organ (It is fluid filled rod/contains fluids).

 Supportive structure (provides skeletal support) and used for

locomotion

 Adds stability to the shape of the organs.

 It serves as a place of muscle attachment which allows

lateral movement of tail for swimming.
 Notochord enables to group the phylum chordata into
subphyla based on the following points:
 Notochord structure
 The time of life in which it is present.
• In urochordates/tunicates- it characterizes larval
stage but it does not extend into head.
• In cephalochordates – it extends to the extreme tip of
head in both young and adults.
• In vertebrates – notochord is surrounded by skeletal
vertebrae during embryonic development.
• In higher vertebrates it is present in the early embryo
only and it is later completely replaced by the
vertebrae.
2. Dorsal tubular nerve cord
 A single tubular neural tissue located dorsal to alimentary
canal.
 In chordates, the nerve cord develops dorsally in body as
a hollow tube above the notochord.
 It is a fluid filled tube of nerve tissue that runs the length
of the animal dorsal to the notochord.
 It is located dorsally along the antero-posterior axis of
the body.
 In vertebrates the nerve cord is represented by the spinal
cord, which is the main communications line of the
nervous system.
 The anterior end becomes enlarged to form the brain in
vertebrates.
 Embryologically, the nerve cord originates from the
dorsal ectoderm.

 It is differentiated into brain anteriorly and spinal cord in

most species in embryogeny that runs via trunk and tail.
 Brain and spinal cord form CNS to which peripheral
sensory and motor nerves connect.

 The dorsal hollow nerve cord persists throughout the

adult life of almost all chordates.

 Dorsal tubular nerve cord and its associated structures are

largely responsible for chordates success.
3. Pharyngeal slits/pouches
 Pharyngeal slits/pouches are pairs of openings that lead
from pharyngeal cavity to alimentary canal.
 A paired lateral cleft leading from the pharynx to the
exterior.
 They are formed from in pocketing of the outside
ectoderm (invagination) and out pouching of endodermal
lining of the pharynx (pharyngeal pouches).
 They are present throughout life in fishes and a few tailed
amphibians.
 In amphibians, like frogs and toads it is found only in the
larval stages.
 In higher vertebrates (reptiles, birds and mammals) they
are embryonic and non-functional.
 Slits serve as water exit holes through which water, drawn
through the pharynx, is passed out without it continuing down
into the rest of the gastrointestinal tract.
 Used as filter feeding in protochordates
 For breathing activity in fishes (In fishes, the gill slits have
develop into true gills for breathing) and embryonic amphibians.
 In higher vertebrates like human, gill slits are vestiges.
 Used for respiratory water current in primary aquatic animals but
at adult removed and lost function when transition to land
occurred.
 In tetrapods, Pharyngeal pouches give rise to a variety of
structures, including the Eustachian tube, middle ear cavity,
tonsils and parathyroid glands
• Pharyngeal slits also provide a clue to the aquatic
ancestry of all chordates.
4. Post anal tail
 It is a posterior elongation of the tail beyond the anus.
 It may persist or lost during adult development.
 For example, tail is evident in humans as vestige only
 Provides propulsion for swimming in aquatic chordates
 Some solitary urochordates never have a true post-anal
tissue due to lack of complete gut during development.
5. Endostyle
 Endostyle or Thyroid gland is the structure that is located
beneath the pharyngeal cavity.
 It is recently recognized chordates character.
 It secretes mucus that traps small food particles in
pharyngeal cavity
 Possible Invertebrate ancestors of chordates
• Chordates are supposed to rise from invertebrate
ancestors.
• Two line of evolution are proposed to suggest which
invertebrates were most probable ancestors of chordates.
1. Protostomes lineages (annelid-mollusc-arthropod group).
 The first assumption on evolutionary ancestors of
chordates.
 Considered as arthropods and annelids gave rise to
chordates because of some morphological similarities
 Main morphological similarity between annelids,
arthropods and chordates is
A. The presence of body segmentation
 However, the segmentation and jointed appendages that are
part of an arthropod exoskeleton are quite unlike the
chordate myotomal segmentation.
 In chordates, only dorsal myotomal region is segmented and
even the mesoderm is not divided in its ventral region in most
animals.
 But, it is almost complete body segmentation in annulates.
 This similarity is also found to be superficial.
B. The exhibition of gross brain regionalization with fore
brain & hind brain in all groups.
 In annelids and arthropods the nerve cord occupies a ventral
position below the gut along with a major blood vessel.
 In this reversed position, the inverted annelid or arthropod
body becomes the fundamental chordate body.
 But main nerve cord of annelids and arthropods is solid, ventral,
not hollow and dorsal as in chordates and develop in different
way.
 Annelid-mollusc-arthropod group chordate evolution
assumption is now fallen from favor because the two groups of
animals had no developmental and molecular similarities.
 And the whole orientation of the body differs in the two groups.
 The essential plan of development in annulates involves spiral
cleavage, a schizocoel coelom formation and full segmentation
of the mesoderm.
 The usual position for a chordates mouth and anus are
ventral, whereas an annelid or arthropod rolled on its back.
 These developmental plans have no similarity and any direct
connection with the developmental plan of chordates.
 Therefore, protostomes are unlikely to give rise to chordates.
2. Deuterostomes lineage (echinoderm-hemichordate assemblage).
 According to this assumption chordates were evolved from
echinoderms and their allies.
 Because chordates most features support the resemblance of
echinoderms and their allies.
 Therefore echinoderms and their allies are considered as chordate
sister group.
 Some of the characteristics that chordates shared with echinoderms
and their relatives include
--- anus derived from blastopore,
-- radial cleavage,
-- mouth derived from opening of secondary origin,
-- coelom is formed as enterocoel,
-- larval of echinoderm type,
-- presence of mesodermal skeleton.
Possible Evolutionary Trees of Chordates
Classification of Chordates
Based on cladistic classification system, chordates are
divided into two major groups. i.e.
 Protochordata (Acrania) group
 Craniata (Vertebrata) group
1. Protochordates /Acrania/
 They are invertebrate chordates
 Lack cranium and vertebral column.
 Include three subphylum: Hemichordates, Urochordates
and Cephalochordates
Hemichordates
 Hemichordata is a combination of Greek and Latin words.
That is, Gr.,hemi = half and L.,chorda = cord.
 Thus, they are referred to as half chordates. This is due to
sharing of some features with chordates.

 Marine animals that were formerly considered a

subphylum of chordates, based on their possession of gill
slits and a rudimentary notochord.

 However, the so-called hemichordate notochord is really a

buccal diverticulum (called a stomochord, meaning
“mouth-cord”) and not homologous with the chordate
notochord
 What chordate features Hemichordates share?
They share the following with chordates:
1. pharyngeal slits ,and
2. embryonic invagination of the dorsal nerve cord.
• But, they lack notochord and post-anal tail.
• Thus, named as hemichordates.
• They are not classified as true chordates.
• B/c some DNA based studies of evolution suggest that
hemichordates are actually closer to echinoderms than to
true chordates.
Phylogenetic Relationship among Hemichordates , Echinoderms
and Chordates
 These phyla are probably derived from common
ancestor.

 Hemichordates and chordates share deuterostomic

features with echinoderms.

 Most zoologists agree that evolutionary ties b/n the

chordates and hemichordates.

 Thus, they agree that the evolutionary ties b/n chordates

and hemichordates are closer than those b/n echinoderm
and either phylum.
• Chordates and hemichordates probably diverged from widely
separated points along the deuterostomic lineage.
• Differences in body forms and life styles are supporting
evidences for this.
• Hemichordates share pharyngeal slits and embryonic nerve
cord invagination with chordates.
• Today, however, molecular phylogenies have established that
the Hemichordata is a sister group to Echinodermata.
• Hemichordates share resemblance of their tornaria larvae
with auricularia larvae of echinoderms.
• As a result in most recent publications and texts,
hemichordates are treated under an independent animal
phylum
• Members of this phylum may be considered as the link b/n
invertebrates and vertebrates.
 General features of phylum Hemichordata
• The members are marine animals.
• Vermiform bottom dwellers, living usually in shallow waters.
• Some colonial species live in secreted tubes. Most are
sedentary or sessile
• Their body is divided into three regions. (proboscis, collar
and trunk).
• Their coelom is divided into three (tricoelomate structure of
deuterostomes.
• They possess ciliated pharyngeal gill slits (Gill slits in the
pharynx primarily serve for filter feeding and secondarily for
breathing).
• They have complete digestive tract.
• They possess dorsal sometimes hollow nerve cord.
 Classification of Hemichordates

• The phylum has 2 extant and 1 extinct classes.

• The two extant classes are: Enteropneusta (acron worms)
and Pterobranchia
1. Class Enteropneusta (acron worms)
 Commonly known as acorn worms because of their
sluggish nature.
 The sluggish nature is because of the appearance of
proboscis; it is short, conical projection at worm anterior
end.
 Free swimming, ciliary mucus feeders and burrowing
animals.
 Like any hemichordate enteropneusts body is divided into
proboscis, collar and trunk.
 Form and Function of Enteropneusta

• Mucus-covered body is divided into a tonguelike

proboscis, a short collar, and a long trunk (protosome,
mesosome, and metasome).
Proboscis
• Active part of the animal.
• Probes about in the mud, examining its surroundings and
collecting food in mucous strands on its surface
• Cilia carry particles to the groove at the edge of the
collar, direct them to the mouth on the underside, and
then the particles are swallowed.
• Large particles can be rejected by covering the mouth
with the edge of the collar
 A ciliated epidermis and gland cells cover acorn worms.
 Cilia and mucus assist acorn worms in feeding.
 Mouth located ventrally between the proboscis and the
collar.
 Burrow dwellers use the proboscis to excavate, thrusting
it into the mud or sand and allowing cilia and mucus to
move the sand backward.
 They build U-shaped, mucus-lined burrows
 In the posterior end of the proboscis is a small coelomic
sac (protocoel) into which extends the buccal
diverticulum, a slender, blindly ending pouch of the gut
that reaches forward into the buccal region and was
formerly considered a notochord.
Feeding and the Digestive System
 Hemichordates are largely ciliary-mucus feeders.
 Behind the buccal cavity lies the large pharynx
containing in its dorsal part the U-shaped gill slits
 Since there are no gills, the primary function of the
branchial mechanism of the pharynx is presumably food
gathering.
 Having been caught in mucus and brought to the mouth
by ciliary action on the proboscis and collar, food
particles are strained from the branchial water that leaves
through the gill slits.
 Food then passes to the ventral part of the pharynx and
esophagus to the intestine, where digestion and
absorption occur
Acorn worm
Reproductive System and Development of enteropneusts
 Sexes are separate in enteropneusts.
 Dorsolateral row of gonads runs along each side of the
anterior part of the trunk.
 Fertilization is external, and in some species a ciliated
tornaria larva develops that at certain stages is so similar to
the echinoderm bipinnaria that it was once believed to be
an echinoderm larva
 The familiar Saccoglossus of American waters has direct
development without a tornaria stage.
 Balanoglossus and saccoglossus are the two common
genera of enteropneusts.
 2. Class Pterobranchia
• The basic plan of class Pterobranchia is similar to that of
Enteropneusta,
• Certain structural differences are correlated with the
sedentary life-style of pterobranchs.
• Proboscis is expanded and shield like. It secretes the tube
and aids in movement in the tube.
• Most occupy u-shaped burrows in sandy and muddy
substrates of marine habitats.
• Pterobranchs reproduce asexually by budding.
• Only two genera: Cephalodiscus and Rhabdopleura are
known in any detail.
• The body of Cephalodiscus is divided into the three
regions (proboscis, collar, and trunk)
• There is only one pair of gill slits, and the alimentary
canal is U-shaped, with the anus near the mouth.
• The proboscis is shield shaped.
• At the base of the proboscis are five to nine pairs of
branching arms with tentacles containing an extension of
the coelomic compartment of the mesosome, as in a
lophophore.
• Ciliated grooves on the tentacles and arms collect food.
• Some species are dioecious, and others are monoecious.
• Asexual reproduction by budding may also occur.
• In Rhabdopleura (Gr. rhabdos, rod, pleura, a rib, the
side), which is smaller than Cephalodiscus,

• The members remain together to form a colony of zooids

connected by a stolon and enclosed in secreted tubes

• The collar in these forms bears two branching arms.

• No gill clefts or glomeruli are present.

• New individuals are produced by budding from a creeping

basal stolon, which branches on a substratum.
A. A typical Pterobranch & B. Portion of colony

A. Rhabdopleura, in its tube. Individuals live in branching tubes

connected by stolons, and protrude the ciliated tentacles for feeding. B.
Portion of a colony.
 Quiz
• What characteristics do Hemichordata share with
Chordata, and how do the two phyla differ?

• Distinguish Enteropneusta from Pterobranchia.

• What is the evidence that Hemichordata are related

to echinoderms?
 Subphylum Urochordates (Tail Chordates)
 They are also called Tunicates.
 Include about 3000 species. They are found in all seas
from near shoreline to great depths.
 The notochord of urochordates is restricted to the tail in
the larval stage and disappears in the adults.
 Urochordate refers to “ tail back string”.
 The name “tunicate” is suggested by the usually tough,
nonliving tunic, or test, that surrounds the animal and
contains cellulose
The structure of a larval tunicate, showing the characteristic tadpole-like form
• Only the larval of tunicates bears all the five chordates
hallmarks.
• Larvae are free swimming & notochord is only in tail in
larvae.
• After settling on seashore, they get transformed into
sessile adults.
• Adult urochordates have only pharyngeal gill slits and
endostyle from the chief characteristics of chordates.
• In adult metamorphosis, notochord disappears and dorsal
nerve cord becomes reduced to a single ganglion (trunk
ganglion).
• Most are sessile and highly specialized chordates as
adults.
• Generally hermaphrodite.
Structure of common tunicate
 Classes of Tunicates
• Sub phylum urochordata is classified into three main classes.
These are ascidiacea, larvacea and thalacea.
Class Ascidiacea
 Ascidians are the most common, diverse and best known
tunicates.
 They are often called sea squirts because some species of
ascidians forcefully discharge a jet of water from the excurrent
siphon when irritated
 Based on their life style ascidians may be solitary, colonial or
compound.
 Solitary ascidians have two external projections, an incurrent
or oral siphon which corresponds to the anterior end of their
body and an excurrent or artrial siphon that makes the dorsal
side of the animal
• Solitary ascidians are usually spherical or cylindrical
forms.
• Lining the tunic is an inner membrane, the mantle.
• When the sea squirt is expanded, water enters the
incurrent siphon and passes into a capacious ciliated
pharynx that is minutely subdivided by gill slits to form an
elaborate basketwork.
• Water passes through the gill slits into an atrial cavity and
out through the excurrent siphon.
• Compound ascisdians have a common excurrent siphon
but their own incurrent siphon.
• In colonial tunicates, there may be a common sac and a
common opening to the outside.
 Feeding in Ascidiacea
• Feeding depends on the formation of a mucous net that is
secreted by a glandular groove, the endostyle, located along
the midventral side of the pharynx.

• Cilia on gill bars of the pharynx pull the mucus into a sheet
that spreads dorsally across the inner face of the pharynx.

• Food particles brought in the incurrent opening are trapped on

the mucous net, which is then worked into a rope and carried
posteriorly by cilia into the esophagus and stomach.

• Nutrients are absorbed in the midgut and indigestible wastes

are discharged from the anus, located near the excurrent
siphon.
Circulatory system of sea squirts:
• Consists of a ventral heart and two large vessels, one on
either side of the heart;
• These vessels connect to a diffuse system of smaller
vessels and spaces serving the pharyngeal basket (where
respiratory exchange occurs), the digestive organs,
gonads, and other structures.
The nervous system of sea squirts
• restricted to a nerve ganglion and plexus of nerves that lie
on the dorsal side of the pharynx.
• Beneath the nerve ganglion is located the sub neural
gland, connected by a duct to the pharynx.
Reproduction in Sea squirts
 Sea squirts are hermaphroditic, with usually a single ovary and
a single testis in the same animal.
 Germ cells are carried by ducts into the atrial cavity, and then
into the surrounding water where fertilization occurs
Class Thalacea/Salps
 They are barrel or lemon shaped pelagic forms, with
transparent, gelatinous bodies
 Many are provided with luminous organs, which give a
brilliant light at the night time
 They occur singly or in colonial chains that may reach several
meters in length.
 The cylindrical thaliacean body is typically surrounded by
bands of circular muscle, with incurrent and excurrent siphons
at opposite ends.
 Water pumped through the body by muscular contraction
(rather than by cilia as in ascidians) is used
---- for locomotion by a sort of jet propulsion,
--- for respiration, and
--- as a source of particulate food that is filtered on
mucous surfaces.

 Doliolum and salpa are the common forms of thalaceans

and reproduce by alterations of sexual and asexual
generations.
 Class Larvacea (Appendicularia)
• Larvaceans are curious larva like pelagic creatures shaped
like a bent tadpole.
• They obtained their name from their resemblance to the
larval stages of other tunicates.
• They feed by a method unique in the animal world.
Feeding process of larvaceans: involves a number of steps.
• First step: building of a delicate house with filters and
passages through which water enters.
• Second step: water enters into the larvaceans through the
filters and passages on the built house.
• Then the feeding filter inside the house traps particulate
foods from the water that entered into the house.
• In the third step: a particulate food that trapped on a
feeding filter inside the house is drawn into the mouth
through the straw like tube.

• Finally, when the filters become clogged with wastes

(which happens about every 4 hours), the larvaceans
abandons its house and builds a new house, a process that
takes only a few minutes.

• This is an ongoing activity throughout the life of

larvaceans.
Larvacean adult (left) and as it appears within its transparent house (right).
 Cephalochordates/Lancelets
 Lancelets are slender, laterally compressed animals in the
sandy bottoms of coastal waters.
 They obtained the name cephalochordate because their
nervous system is centered on a hollow nerve cord above
the notochord.
 Lancelets were given their English name because they
resemble a lancet (a small, two-edged surgical knife)
 There are about 23 species of this subphylum.
 Cephalochordates originally bore the generic name
amphioxus (both ended sharp) which later replaced by
branchiostoma.
 But the term amphioxus is still in use as a common name.
• Cephalochordates have the five distinctive features of
chordates in simple form.

• No other lower chordates show the basic diagnostic

chordates characteristics as clearly as amphioxus.

• In addition to the five chordates hallmarks, amphioxus

possesses several structural features that suggest the
vertebrate plan.

• These are the presence of hepatic cecum, a diverticulum

that resembles pancreas, segmented trunk musculature,
and the basic circulatory plan of more advanced
chordates.
• Lancelets are believed to be the closest living relative of
vertebrates but unlikely to be the most recent common
ancestor of vertebrates because they lack the tripartite
brain, chambered heart, special sense organs, muscular
gut, and neural crest tissue.
• Like other lower chordates, cephalochordates are filter
feeders.
• Water enters the mouth and passes through numerous
pharyngeal slits for filtration of particulate foods.
• Filtered water passes into an atrium then leaves the body
by the opening called atriopore.
• They Possess two genera- Branchiostoma and
asymmetron.
Anatomy of cephalochordate- amphioxus
 THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE & ACCOMPANYING EVENTS IN
VERTEBRATE EVOLUTION

• Paleontology- is fossil study.

• Paleontology examines the origins and fates of lineages and
major groups, evolutionary trends and other changes in
anatomy through time, and geographic and temporal
variations in diversity throughout the geologic past.
Q. What is geological time scale?
• Geological time scale is a method of relating the timing and
relationship between events that have occurred during the
history of the earth.

• An arbitrary chronological sequence of geologic events that is

used as a measure of the age of any part of the geologic time.
• It covers the earth’s entire geologic history from its origin
up to the present.

• The present geologic time scale is based on radiometric

dating and the record of ancient life preserved in layers of
rock.

• It was formulated by geologists based on the relative age

of fossils in sedimentary rock.

• It covers from the origin of earth to present time.

• It provides a system of chronologic measurement relating
stratigraphy to time that is used by geologists,
paleontologists and other earth scientists .
Classification of geological time scales
• The age of the earth is estimated as 4.5 to 4.6 billion
years old.
• Geological time is the 4.6 billion years history of
earth. It is the history of the earth from its origin to the
present day.
• Geological time scale however is a system of
chronological measurement that relates stratigraphy by
time.
• Geologists have divided Earth's history into a series of
time intervals.
 Geologists have divided Earth's history into a series of
time intervals.
– the time intervals are variable in length because
geologic time is divided using significant events in the
history of the Earth. For instance;
– 1. Boundary b/n the Permian and Triassic are marked
by a global extinction in which a large percentage of
Earth's plant and animal species were eliminated.
– 2. Boundary b/n the Precambrian and the Paleozoic
which is marked by the first appearance of animals
with hard parts.
Hierarchies of Geological Time scales

Eons

Decreasing order
Eras
Increasing order

Periods
Epochs
 The geologic history of the Earth is broken up into
hierarchical chunks of time.
- From largest to smallest, this hierarchy includes eons,
eras, periods, epochs, and ages.
1. Eons: are the largest intervals of geologic time that
geologists use to measure the age of the Earth.
• In the time scale the Phanerozoic Eon is the most recent
eon and began more than 500 mya.
• Earth are grouped into three Eons :
– 1. Archean (3.8 – 2.5 b.y.a) ,
– 2. Proterozoic (2.5b.y.a. – 570 million), and
– 3. Phanerozoic (570 – to present time).
2. Eras: Eons are divided into smaller time intervals known
as eras.
• In the time scale that the Phanerozoic eon is divided into
three eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
• Paleozoic era (570 – 240 mya): Ancient era
- 6 periods- Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian,
Ordovician & Cambrian.
- “Age of Fish”
• Mesozoic era (240 -65 mya): Middle era
- 3 periods – these are Cretaceous, Jurassic, & Triassic
period.
- “Age of Dinosaurs”
• Cenozoic era (65 mya – to present time). Recent era
- 2 period: i.e. Tertiary & Quaternary period.
- Age of Mammalians
Q. How do the boundary of era is determined?
• Very significant events in Earth's history are used to
determine the boundaries of the eras.
• Also, the divisions of era reflect major changes in the
composition of ancient faunas, each era being recognized
by its domination by a particular group of animals.
3. Periods: Eras are subdivided into periods.
 Example: Paleozoic is subdivided into Permian,
Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, and Ordovician and
Cambrian periods.
4. Epochs: Finer subdivisions of time are possible and the
periods of the Cenozoic are frequently subdivided into
epochs.
• Subdivision of periods into epochs can be done only for
the most recent portion of the geologic time scale. Why?
- because older rocks have been buried deeply, intensely
deformed and severely modified by long-term earth
processes.
- As a result, the history contained within these rocks
cannot be as clearly interpreted.
• Origin of vertebrates took place in the Paleozoic era Ordovician
period in the forms of ostracoderms (jaw less bony fish like forms).
• The earliest known vertebrates with lower jaws appeared in Silurian
period of Paleozoic era.
• Ostracoderms gave rise to the ancient and first jawed vertebrates,
placoderms and acanthodians, in Silurian period.
• Acanthodians rose to the advanced fishes, cartilaginous and bony
fishes in the early devonian period.
• Advanced fishes particularly bony fishes gave rise to the first land
vertebrates, amphibians.
• Amphibians originated in the Devonian and reached their peak and
radiated into reptiles in carboniferous period, the year of
amphibians.
• The first birds (tooth birds) originated from reptiles in the Triassic
period.
• Finally, dinosaurs and mammals originated in the Jurassic period.
Era Period Age Information
P
a All life existed only in the sea.
l There were no vertebrates so the most advanced forms of life
e 570- were snails and other small shelled organisms.
o Cambrian 500 The dominant species in this period were the trilobites, a now
z mya extinct species.
o The only plants that existed were simple seaweeds in the water,
i and lichens on land.
c
 
The very first vertebrates appeared in this period, but they were
500-
only the simplest of fish. The largest animal of this time was a
Ordovician 435
mollusc that had a shell of about 3 meters long. The plants in
mya
this period are the same as in the Cambrian.

 
One of the only great accomplishments of this period was the
435- first breathing animal. The first evidence of vascular plants
Silurian 410 (plants with tissue that carries food) comes from this period.
mya They were only very simple plants, without even stems or
leaves.
 Fish had become the dominating life form. The sharks had already
evolved, as well as lungfish and armoured fish. There were also the
410-
ancestors, and early forms of, amphibians. Also, this time was home to
Devonian 360
the very first insect. Also, plant life really took off. The first wooded
mya
plants appeared, along with ferns, scoring rushes, and scale trees.
Fossil records show that there were forests in this time.

The first part of this period was sometimes called the Mississipian
Period.
A lot of the life here was the same as in the Devonian. A group of
sharks called the Cestraciontes, or shell crushers, were the dominant
360 - marine species. The dominant land animal was the Stegocephalia, a
Carboniferous 290 lizard-like amphibian. The trees in this period grew larger and stronger
mya than in the last. The second part of this period is sometimes referred to
as the Pennsylvanian Period. This part was very important, because the
first Reptiles evolved. The largest trees were the scale trees, which
grew 1.8 m in diameter and 30 m high, along with the first true
conifers.
 The last period of the Paleozoic Era. The very important
events of this time were that the marine animals that once
290-
dominated the planet were starting to fall back, with reptiles
Permian 240
taking over. Another very important event was the appearance
mya
of a certain type of reptile, called the Theriodontia. They were
the ancestors of all mammals.

Probably the most important thing that happened in this period

was the appearance of the dinosaurs.
M Triassic dinosaurs were small creatures that ran on their hind feet
e and seldom grew over 15 feet high. In the waters, the
s Ichthyosaurs began to appear, and a group of flying reptiles,
240-
o called the Pterosaurs, began their rule over the sky.
Triassic 205
z Another very important stage of development was the evolution
mya
o of the first mammals. They were small and resembled lizards.
i Also in the sea, the first ancestors of modern bony fishes, the
c Teleostei, appeared.
The vegetation was made up of evergreens, ginkgoes, conifers
and palms.
 The dinosaurs continued to evolve into very diverse species. The
Sauropods appeared which included dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus
and Brachiosaurus. The cool carnivorous dinosaur of the time was
Allosaurus, and Stegosaurus led the armoured dinosaurs. Of the
Pterosaurs, the Pterodactyl appeared. The very first bird, called an
205- Archaeopteryx, evolved. It looked like a dinosaur with feathers, and
Jurassic 138 was probably unable to fly, just glide. The marine life was real scary.
mya There were such animals as the Plesiosaurs, which looked like
sauropods with flippers, the Ichthyosauria, which looked like evil
dolphins from hell, and early crocodiles.
The mammals had become more popular, but none were any larger
than dogs. The vegetation was dominated by Cyads.
The climate in the whole of the Earth was warm and mild.
 The dinosaurs were still the dominating form of life, and all the
types of dinosaurs that were around in the Jurassic were here
too, with the addition of the horned dinosaurs. On a much
smaller scale than the dinosaurs, but still important, were the
first snakes and lizards.
Many other types of birds appeared, and even though they were
138-
more modern than the Archaeopteryx, most of them were still
Cretaceous 65
unable to fly.
mya
The mammals of this period included the first marsupials, and
the first crabs also appeared in the sea. A very important
advance in the plant kingdom was the evolution of the
deciduous trees, and a lot of tree species we know today first
arrived during that time. Suddenly, at the end of this period, all
the dinosaurs on Earth swiftly and mysteriously disappeared.
 The first epoch in the Tertiary Period is the Paleocene (65 to 55 million
years ago). In this time, mammals were just starting to evolve.
There were seven groups of mammals but marsupials, the insectivores,
the primates, and the rodents are the only survived mammals until
C present day.
e The second epoch is the Eocene (55 to 38 million years ago). In this
n epoch, the ancestors of such animals as the horse, rhinoceros, camel,
65-
o rodent, and monkey evolved, but they were all small and primitive. Also,
Tertiary 1.6
z the first aquatic mammals, the ancestors of whales, appeared, along with
mya
o modern birds such as eagles, pelicans, quail, and vultures.
i The next epoch was the Miocene. In this epoch, the first grasses
c appeared making grazing animals the very common. The Mastodon also
evolved, along with a gorilla-like ape called Dryopithecus. Carnivores
such as cats and wolf like dogs were also common. The Pliocene epoch
is very similar to the Miocene, but is looked upon as the climax of The
Age of Mammals. It lasted from 5 to 1.6 million years ago.

1.6
All of the animals that we have today came during this period, including
  Quaternary mya to
ourselves, the humans.
date
Geological time with major evolutionary events in the
fossil record
 The Fossil Record
• A fossil is any remains, trace or imprint of a plant or
animal that has been preserved by natural processes in the
Earth‘s crust from some distant geologic time and provides
a record of Earth‘s history from that time.
• Fossils provide the dimension of time to the study of life .
• Evidence came to light with the study fossils
(paleontology) and the rock record (geology).
• They provide the most acceptable evidences in support of
evolution.
• Therefore, fossils enable us to study the evolutionary
history of past individuals in the form of their fossils.
• The fossil record has been used to develop the worldwide
geological time-scale.
• The fossil records of chordates are rare and known
primarily from two fossil beds, the well-known middle
Cambrian Burgess Shale (rock of dark segment) of Canada
and the recently discovered early Cambrian fossil beds of
Chengjiang and Haikou, China.

• The first known vertebrate fossils, found at the Chengjiang

locality in China, date back to the early Cambrian.

• These early vertebrates, such as Haikouichthys, are small,

tapered, streamlined animals showing eyes, a brain,
pharyngeal arches, a notochord and rudimentary vertebrae.
• A slightly better known is Pikaia, a ribbon (long narrow
strip) shaped, somewhat fish like creature about 5cm in
length discovered in the Burgess shale.
• The presence of myomeres (a muscle segment) and a
notochord clearly identifies Pikaia as a chordate.
• The superficial resemblance of Pikaia to living amphioxus
suggests it may be early cephalochordate.
• Closer to the origin of vertebrates is Haikouella, recently
discovered in 530 million year old sediments near Haikou.
• Haikouella is known from over 300 specimens; including 32
nearly complete fossils.
• It possessed several characters that clearly identify it as a
chordate, including notochord, pharynx and dorsal nerve
cord, but also had several characters that are more typical of
vertebrates.
Fossils are created when three events occur.
1. First, the organism must become buried in sediment;
2. then, the calcium in bone or other hard tissue must mineralize;
and,
3. finally, the surrounding sediment must eventually harden to form
rock.
• The process of fossilization probably occurs rarely.
• Usually, animal or plant remains will decay or be scavenged
before the process can begin.
• In addition, many fossils occur in rocks that are inaccessible to
scientists.
• When they do become available, they are often destroyed by
erosion and other natural processes before they can be collected.
• As a result, only fractions of the species that have ever existed
(estimated by some to be as many as 500 million) are known from
fossils.
 There are five general types of fossils.
 These are unaltered fossils, petrified fossils, moulds and casts,
prints and coprolites.
1. Unaltered fossils:
• Contain the original soft part of the animals. In such kind of
fossils the whole bodies of extinct organisms are found frozen
in ice at the pole or trapped in amber.
2. Petrified fossils:
• Petrified fossils are altered fossils.
• They are formed by replacement of organic parts by in organic
matters.
• Such kind of fossil consists only the hard parts (such as bone,
teeth, wood) of the extinct organisms.
• Petrification is the replacement of organic parts by mineral
deposits.
3. Moulds and Casts:
• a type of fossil in which the buried individuals have been
completely destroyed, but the moulds retain the true
copies of their shapes.

• In such kind of fossil all the structures including the hard

parts of the animal destroys but the shapes and structures
of the animal remain preserved in the strata of the rock.

• Casts are moulds with petrified fossil of the individual.

• Therefore, casts are the fossils that were preserved both

soft parts and hard parts of the past individuals.
4. Prints:
• Prints are the foot prints or prints of other body parts made
in soft mud and became fossilized.
• The discovery of prints show which animal inhabited a
particular area in certain geological time period.
5. Coprolites:
• Coprolites are fossils of fecal pellets buried in the
sediments.
• The discovery of such fossils clearly indicates which
animal lived in that area before a specified time.