Marine Vertebrate Zoology Vertebrate Ancestry How did it all begin?
Invertebrate Origin A great division in the invertebrate world occurred creating two distinct evolutionary lines First Branch Segmented worms, annelids, molluscs, and arthropods Second Branch Bryozoans, brachiopods, echinoderms, and chordates Vertebrate Ancestry
Chordates Characteristics of all chordates Notochord Hollow nerve cord Pharyngeal gill slits Post anal tail Vertebrate Ancestry
Phylum Chordata Subphylum Hemichordata Subphylum Urochordata Acorn worms Subphylum Urochordata Tunicates Subphylum Cephalochordata Amphioxus (Lancelets) Subphylum Vertebrata Fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals Vertebrate Ancestry
Geological Record Paleozoic 600 - 280 million years Our understanding of taxonomy and systematics and the appearance of life on earth is based upon fossil remains. To grasp the magnitude of the geological record it is divided into Eras, which are divided into periods, and divided further into epochs Paleozoic 600 - 280 million years Mesozoic 225 - 136 million years Cenozoic 65 million years - to the present Vertebrate Ancestry
Vertebrate Family Tree
Amphibians
Reptiles & Birds
Mammals