Chordata

{{bronze}}{{biology}}'''Chordata''' is the phylum of [[animal]]s that includes [[human]]s, and as a result, it tends to receive a disproportionate amount of attention compared to the others. There are over 81,000 living species of chordates, with over 95% of them being vertebrates.<ref>[https://eol.org/pages/694 Chordates], ''EOL''</ref> The earliest known chordate fossils are around 530 million years old and were formed during the Cambrian explosion, although the phylum is likely to have originated earlier.<ref>[https://ifsa.my/articles/growing-a-backbone-chordates Growing A Backbone: Chordates], ''The Institution for Scientific Advancement''</ref> As chordates, or more specifically vertebrates, are the most abundant land animals besides arthropods, they were the focus of most of the early attempts at [[taxonomy]]. [[Paleontology|Paleontological]] and [[genetic]] evidence would prove these models to be wildly inaccurate,{{efn|In the time before genetic testing, taxonomy was necessarily based on [[phenotype]]s (physical appearances) rather than genotypes (the genetic makeup of organisms). Due to [[convergent evolution]], organisms can appear similar even though they are not closely related genetically.}} but many misconceptions fueled by them remain.

==Characteristics==
There are five {{wpl|synapomorphies||,}} or shared traits, that all chordates share and are believed to have come from their last [[common ancestor]].<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16280542/ Evolution and development of the chordates: collagen and pharyngeal cartilage], Amanda L. Rychel et al., ''Mol Biol Evol.'' 2006 Mar;23(3):541-9. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msj055. Epub 2005 Nov 9. PMID: 16280542.</ref> Lancelets have all of these traits throughout their lives, while for other chordates, some of these traits may only appear in the [[embryo]] stage. These traits are for the most part exclusive to chordates, although hemichordates have analogues to some of these.

===Notochord===
[[File:Amphioxus xs showing notochord muscles and pharynx.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A thin section of a lancelet. The notochord is the circular thing in the middle.]]
The trait that gave the phylum its name, the notochord is a semi-flexible rod across the length of chordates. Lancelets keep these throughout their entire lives, and rely on muscles to move the notochord. Tunicates have a notochord only in their larval stage, while in vertebrates the notochord is only present in embryos and gets supplanted by the vertebral column in development.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/chordatamm.html Chordata: More on Morphology], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref> The notochord is a source of signals to the rest of the body and is important to skeletal development in vertebrates.<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15890825/ Structure and function of the notochord: an essential organ for chordate development], Derek L. Stemple, ''Development'' 2005 Jun;132(11):2503-12. doi: 10.1242/dev.01812. PMID: 15890825</ref>

===Dorsal nerve cord===
Located on the upper side of the notochord, the hollow dorsal nerve cord develops into the spine and [[brain]] of most chordates.<ref>[https://pressbooks.umn.edu/introbio/chapter/animalsechinoderms/ Echinoderms and Chordates], ''Introductory Biology: Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives''</ref> This is unique to chordates, as other animal phyla have a ventral nerve cord in the center of the body,<ref>[https://unacademy.com/content/neet-ug/study-material/biology/the-ventral-nerve-cord/ The Ventral Nerve Cord], ''unacademy''</ref> although hemichordates have both a dorsal and ventral nerve cord.<ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780080450469009451 Brains of Primitive Chordates], J.C. Glover and B. Fritzsch, ''Encyclopedia of Neuroscience'', Academic Press, 2009, Pages 439-448, ISBN 9780080450469</ref>

===Pharyngeal gill arches or slits===
Like many other animals, chordates have a {{wpl|pharynx||,}} but what makes chordates (and hemichordates)<ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780124059450000077 Genomic and Evolutionary Insights into Chordate Origins], Shawn M. Luttrell and Billie J. Swalla, ''Principles of Developmental Genetics'' (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2015, Pages 115-128, ISBN 9780124059450</ref> unique is that they have slits in their pharynx. Lancelets and fish use their pharynx to take in oxygen from the water, while in humans these slits typically close in adults (if not, it requires surgery) but they help with the organization of blood vessels, bones, and glands in the upper body.<ref>[https://sunyorange.edu/biology/resources/library/prehistoric-life/chordates.html Chordates], ''Orange County Community College''</ref>

===Post-anal tail===
All chordates have a tail that extends past the anus, giving more space for the notochord and dorsal nerve cord. Tails also help for locomotion for marine chordates and balance for terrestrial ones.<ref>[https://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/biology/chapter/chordates/ Chordates], ''OpenStaxCollege''</ref> In certain tetrapods such as humans, the tail is vestigial.<ref>[https://www.popsci.com/story/science/human-tailbone-evolution/ Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?], Molly Glick, ''Popular Science'' 7 February 2022</ref>

===Endostyle/thyroid===
All chordates have one of these glands, with lancelets, tunicates, and lamprey larvae having endostyles and all other extant chordates having thyroids.<ref>[https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-022-01282-7#citeas Thyroid and endostyle development in cyclostomes provides new insights into the evolutionary history of vertebrates], Wataru Tagaki et al., ''BMC Biology 20'', 76 (2022)</ref> Both of these glands are responsible for absorbing [[iodine]].<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11180827/ Overlapping expression of amphioxus homologs of the thyroid transcription factor-1 gene and thyroid peroxidase gene in the endostyle: insight into evolution of the thyroid gland], M. Ogasawara, ''Dev Genes Evol.'' 2000 May;210(5):231-42. doi: 10.1007/s004270050309. PMID: 11180827.</ref>

==Groups==
[[File:Torquaratoridae.jpg|thumb|right|165px|This acorn worm isn't actually a chordate; it's a hemichordate instead.]]
Chordates, like hemichordates and echinoderms, are {{wpl|deuterostome|deuterostomes|,}} which means that their {{wpl|blastopore}} develops into an anus, as opposed to a mouth as with {{wpl|protostome|protostomes}} such as arthropods, [[mollusc]]s, and annelids. Chordates later split into three subphyla, cephalochordata, tunicata, and vertebrata. Cephalochordates split from the others first, so tunicates and vertebrates share a [[clade]], {{wpl|olfactores||,}} which are defined by their more advanced olfactory system (a.k.a. their sense of smell). Hemichordates, which include {{wpl|acorn worms||,}}{{efn|Which, similarly to the below-mentioned lancelets and sea squirts, are benthic filter feeders. Their processed sediment can be seen on the shores of beaches at low tide.<ref>[http://www.mesa.edu.au/marine_worms/marine_worms05.asp Marine Worms], ''Marine Education Society of Australia''</ref>}} were once considered to be a subphylum of chordates, as they have some analogous features, such as gill slits, a dorsal nerve chord, and a {{wpl|stomochord}} that is similar to a notochord. However, as [[DNA]] evidence has shown them to more closely related to echinoderms (sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea lilies, etc.), they are now placed in their own phylum.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/hemichordata.html Introduction to the Hemichordata], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref>

===Cephalochordata===
[[File:Lancelet Anatomy.png|thumb|right|165px|The internal anatomy of a lancelet. See if you can find the five traits that make this a chordate.]]

{{wpl|Cephalochordata|Cephalochordates|,}} also known as lancelets or amphioxi, are small fish-like filter-feeding invertebrates that are considered to be the most primative extant chordates, with a fossil record dating back to the {{wpl|Burgess Shale||.}} There are around thirty known extant species of lancelets. They have no vertebrae and have poorly developed sense organs, but they have a muscular notochord and the other traits associated with chordates.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/cephalo.html Introduction to the Cephalochordata], ''University of California Museum of Paleonatology''</ref> Lancelets reproduce by external reproduction, with planktonic larvae that eventuality develop into benthic adults that live in the sand.<ref>[https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.668025/full The Ontology of the Amphioxus Anatomy and Life Cycle (AMPHX)], Stephanie Bertrand et al., Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 26 April 2021 Sec. Evolutionary Developmental Biology</ref>

Lancelets are eaten as food by several cultures, mainly in East Asia, and they supposedly taste like anchovies.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232830551_Preliminary_Nutritional_Analysis_of_Lancelets_a_Promising_Seafood_with_Aquacultural_Potential Preliminary Nutritional Analysis of Lancelets, a Promising Seafood with Aquacultural Potential], Jennifer E. Frick and Edward E. Rupert, January 2001 Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 10(1):63-75</ref> They are widely studied in order to gain insights into the [[evolutionary]] history of vertebrates, as they were once thought to be the closest invertebrate relative of vertebrates, although genetic analysis has revealed the below-mentioned tunicates to be more closely related instead.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4284660/ Decelerated genome evolution in modern vertebrates revealed by analysis of multiple lancelet genomes], Shengfeng Huang et al., Nat Commun. 2014 Dec 19; 5: 5896</ref>

===Tunicata===
[[File:Microcosmus sabatieri.jpg|thumb|right|165px|''{{wpl|Microcosmus sabatieri||'',}} a species of sea squirt also called a sea fig.]]
Quite a bit more diverse than the lancelets with about 3,000 species, the {{wpl|tunicate|tunicates}} are another group of mostly benthic marine filter-feeding invertebrates. The most well-known tunicates are the sea squirts, so named for their habit of "squirting" [[water]] when removed from the sea.<ref>[https://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/SeaSquirts.html Sea squirts], ''Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution''</ref> Like lancelets, they are sometimes eaten by humans,<ref>[https://soranews24.com/2021/03/12/we-eat-hoya-sea-squirts-out-of-a-can-enjoy-a-tasty-regional-delicacy-from-the-comfort-of-home/ We eat hoya sea squirts out of a can, enjoy a tasty regional delicacy from the comfort of home], Dale Roll, ''Sora News'' 12 March 2021</ref> although many species of tunicates are poisonous, containing high levels of vanadium and sulfuric acid.<ref>[https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/biological/invertebrates/phylum-chordata Phylum Chordata], ''Exploring Our Fluid Earth''</ref> Some other, less well-known tunicates include colonial {{wpl|pyrosome|pyrosomes}} (aka "sea pickles"), planktonic {{wpl|larvacean|larvaceans|,}} and the stalked {{wpl|sea tulip|sea tulips|,}} which have a symbiotic relationship with [[sponge]]s.<ref>[https://australian.museum/learn/animals/sea-squirts/sea-tulip/ Sea tulip], ''Australian Museum''</ref>

[[File:Uroc004b Jon.png|thumb|right|165px|The chordate features of a tunicate are more apparent when you look at their tadpole-like larvae.]]
At first glance, tunicates look nothing like other chordates, and it can be surprising to learn that these are the invertebrates that are most similar to humans. However, it makes more sense when you look at their larvae, which look similar to tadpoles. These larvae do not have mouths and thus cannot eat, however within a few days the tunicate will begin to metamorphose after the larvae attatches to a hard surface in most species. During the metamorphasis, the notochord merges with the rest of the body, and afterwards, with the exception of free-floating species, the tunicates become completely sessile. Some tunicates bud to produce colonies, while others live alone.<ref>[https://www.coraldigest.org/index.php/Tunicates Tunicates], ''Coral Digest''</ref>

===Vertebrata===
The vertebrates, or animals with a backbone, are the largest group of chordates, with a fossil record dating back to the Cambrian {{wpl|Maotianshan Shales|Chengjiang laggerstätten|.}} Historically split into [[mammal]]s, [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, [[amphibian]]s, and [[fish]], this taxonomy was found to be wildly inaccurate for several reasons that we'll get to later. This subphylum contains the largest animals known to have existed,<ref>[https://archive.ph/hjg2u It looks like a giant manatee. And it may have been Earth’s largest animal ever.], Dino Grandoni, ''Washington Post'' 2 August 2023</ref> as well as the only animals known to have edited [[RationalWiki]].{{nofact}} As the first vertebrates were likely jawless fish (see below), this means that every vertebrate can be accurately called a fish.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/the-absurdity-of-natural-history-or-why-humans-are-fish-69384 The absurdity of natural history – or, why humans are ‘fish’], Jack Ashby, ''The Conversation'' 29 November 2016</ref>

====Agnatha====
[[File:Sea lamprey mouth close up.jpg|thumb|right|165px|The mouth of a {{wpl|sea lamprey||,}} looking like something out of a horror film.]]
This is an infraphylum consisting of the {{wpl|Agnatha|jawless fish|,}} and it is sister to {{wpl|gnathostomes||,}} which contains all other extant vertebrate species. Although they used to be a lot more diverse in the past, there are only two remaining extant groups: {{wpl|Myxini}} or hagfishes and {{wpl|Hyperoartia}} or lampreys, both of the taxa {{wpl|Cyclostomata||.}} Some extinct groups include the [[conodont]]s, the primative {{wpl|Myllokunmingiida||,}} and the {{wpl|Ostracoderms||,}} which were the most diverse group.

Modern jawless fishes have a skeleton made of cartilage and a third {{wpl|pineal eye}} to help detect light, but they lack side fins or a stomach.<ref>[https://nhpbs.org/wild/Agnatha.asp Agnatha - Lamprey, Hagfish], ''PBS''</ref> Lampreys lack gill openings and have their gills behind their mouth and [[eyes]]. They are [[parasites]] that use their tongue to put holes in a fish's skin so they can suck their prey's bodily fluids. They have become invasive in many places, with a single lamprey being capable of killing 40 pounds of fish per year.<ref>[https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sea-lamprey.html What is a sea lamprey?],''National Ocean Service''</ref> Hagfish, on the other hand, are slimy scavengers with four hearts that also occasionally prey on marine invertebrates, although their slow metabolism means they don't have to eat often. Being almost blind, they rely primarily on their senses of touch and smell, which is helped out by their sensing tentacles on their mouths. While hagfish have a partial cranium and a notochord, they don't actually have any vertebrae, meaning there was a debate as to whether these are vertebrates at all, although since hagfish were found to be closely related to lampreys, excluding them would make the group paraphyletic.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/basalfish/myxini.html Introduction to the Myxini Hagfishes], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref> Their gills form lens-shaped pouches, which makes them different from those of lampreys or any other extant fish, which have {{wiktl|holobranch|holobranchs|.}}<ref>[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-5834-3_13#citeas The Gills of Hagfishes], Helmut Bartels, ''The Biology of Hagfishes'' 978-94-011-5834-3</ref>

====Chondrichthyes====
[[File:Pristis pristis - Georgia Aquarium Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A {{wpl|sawfish}} (not to be confused with a {{wpl|saw shark||).}} Its "saw" contains thousands of {{wpl|Ampullae of Lorenzini}} that allow it to detect the electric fields of other organisms.]]
Also known as the "cartilaginous fishes" (although it would be more accurate to say "jawed cartilaginous fishes" since lampreys and hagfishes also have skeletons (or just a skull in the hagfishes' case) made of cartilage), this class includes two subclasses: {{wpl|Elasmobranchii||,}} which contains [[shark]]s, [[ray]]s, skates, and sawfishes, and {{wpl|Holocephali||,}} of which the only living representatives are the chimaeras or "ghost sharks". They likely descended from {{wpl|Acanthodii|acanthodians}} or "spiny sharks".<ref>[https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/what-were-ancient-sharks-like The Evolution of Sharks: What Were Ancient Sharks Like?], Joshua Rapp Learn, ''Discover'' 1 April 2023</ref> They first appeared in the [[Silurian]], and many species that live today are remarkably similar to those that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.<ref>[https://sunyorange.edu/biology/resources/library/prehistoric-life/cartilaginous-fish.html Cartilaginous Fish], ''Orange County Community College''</ref>

Most of their skeletons are made of cartilage; the only part with [[calcium]] is their teeth, which tend to be by far the most common part to [[fossil]]ize. Like the bony fish, chondrichthyes have paired fins, but unlike them, they lack {{wpl|swim bladder|swim bladders|,}} meaning they must constantly be in motion.<ref>[http://fsc.fernbank.edu/stt/vertbio/chondrichthyes.htm Chondrichthyes], ''Fernbank Science Center''</ref> Additionally, all chondrichthyes are capable of {{wpl|electroreception||,}} or the ability to sense changes in electricity of their surroundings; only a handful of modern-day bony fish like {{wpl|sturgeons}} can do the same.<ref>[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfb.14068 Electroreception in marine fishes: chondrichthyans], Kyle C. Newton et al., ''Journal of Fish Biology'' Volume 95 Issue 1 pages 135-154 6 June 2019</ref>

====Actinopterygii====
[[File:Polypterus senegalus - Senegal-Flösselhecht - Albino.jpg|thumb|right|165px|The bichir, a [[living fossil]] usually found in streams in [[Africa]] but can sometimes come ashore to search for [[insect]]s.]]
Under the superclass {{wpl|Osteichthyes}} (bony fish) and sister to the below Sarcopterygii, the "ray-finned fishes" are the most diverse class of chordates, comprising a slight majority of vertebrate species.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/actinopterygii/actinintro.html Introduction to the Actinopterygii], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref> They are separated from other kinds of fish by their {{wpl|lepidotrichia||,}} which are webs of fins supported by bony spines. Additionally, unlike jawless or cartilaginous fish, they have swim bladders, which provide buoyancy and allow the fish to stay in place in the water without using energy.<ref>[http://natechertack.com/fishes/actinopterygii.html Actinopterygii: Ray-Finned Fishes], ''NC.com''</ref> 

There are two subclasses of ray-finned fish: {{wpl|Cladistia}} and {{wpl|Actinopteri||.}} Cladistia contains the bichirs and reedfish, a group of fish that share some traits with the below lobe-finned fishes and can even live on land for short periods of time.<ref>[https://www.snexplores.org/article/fish-out-water-walks-and-morphs A fish out of water — walks and morphs], Susan Millius, ''ScienceNews Explores'' 9 September 2014</ref> Actinopteri can be further split into {{wpl|Chondrostei}} (sturgeons and paddlefish) and {{wpl|Neopterygii||.}} Sturgeons and paddlefish both have their skeletons made partially from cartilage, and their fins look more like those of sharks than other ray-finned fishes.<ref>[https://nhpbs.org/wild/acipenseriformes.asp Acipenseriformes - Paddlefish, Sturgeons], ''New Hampshire PBS''</ref> Finally, Neopterygii can be split into {{wpl|Holostei||,}} gars and bowfins, and {{wpl|Teleostei||,}} which contains sea horses, anglerfish, eels, ocean sunfish, and every other ray-finned fish you can think of. Gars and bowfins are long, tough, predatory freshwater fish that can inhabit oxygen-poor waters as they can breathe air through their gills.<ref>[http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2018/11/gar.html?m=1 Gar!], ''Catalogue of Organisms''</ref> Teleosts are separated from the other ray-finned fish by their movable {{wpl|premaxilla||,}} allowing their jaws to protrude from their mouths.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/actinopterygii/teleostei.html Teleostei], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref>

====Sarcopterygii====
[[File:Eusthenopteron foordi (fossil fish) (Upper Devonian; Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec, Canada) 3 (34593965862).jpg|thumb|right|165px|A fossil of {{wpl|Eusthenopteron||,}} an extinct genus of lobe-finned fish that is closely related to tetrapods.]]
The lobe-finned fishes, as these are commonly called, are distinguished by their fleshy fins, which became limbs in tetrapods.<ref>[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/obl4he/vertebratediversity/lobefinned_fishes.html Sarcopterygii - lobe-finned fishes], ''UCL''</ref> While they were more diverse in the past, there are only two extant subclasses of lobe-finned fishes: {{wpl|Actinistia||,}} which contains [[coelacanth]]s, and {{wpl|Rhipidistia||,}} which contains [[lungfish]] and tetrapods (see below). Coelacanths are living fossils that have several traits that are unique to them among living chordates, among them an oil-filled swim bladder and incompletely formed vertebrae.<ref>[https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/coelacanth Coelacanth], ''Smithsonian Institute''</ref> Lungfish are another ancient order of fish dating back to the [[Devonian]] that can breathe air using their modified swim bladders.<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/sarco/dipnoi.html Introduction to the Dipnoi], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref>

=====Tetrapoda=====
[[File:Axolotl ambystoma mexicanum anfibio ASAG.jpg|thumb|right|165px|An axolotl, an example of a batrachomorph tetrapod.]]
Finally, the group including [[goat]]s, [[dinosaur]]s, [[monkey]]s, and other iconic animals. This group was considered so important that half of the six groups of animals in the original Linnaen [[taxonomy]] were tetrapods!<ref>[https://www.thoughtco.com/linnaean-classification-system-4126641 Linnaean Classification System (Scientific Names)], Anne Marie Helmenstine, ''ThoughtCo.'' 30 July 2019</ref>{{efn|And arguably more than that, given that whales and [[dolphin]]s were classified as fish!}} This group was classically divided into [[mammal]]s, [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, and [[amphibian]]s. However, this system was proven inaccurate for a variety of reasons. Firstly, there was still a lot of gray area with these categories; for instance, "mammal-like reptiles" like ''{{wpl|Dimetrodon}}'' were grouped in with reptiles, despite being more closely related to mammals than any extant reptiles.<ref>[https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12052-009-0117-4 Dimetrodon Is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution], K.D. Angielczyk, ''Evo Edu Outreach 2'', 257–271 (2009)</ref> Secondly, birds were found to be the direct descendants of dinosaurs, despite dinosaurs being grouped in with reptiles. Thirdly, the group "amphibians" is paraphyletic, as all tetrapods have ancestors that would classically be considered to be "amphibians". This meant that this system, while being intuitive to humans, did not reflect the realities of their evolutionary relation, so a new system had to be found.

Today, tetrapoda is split into two subgroups, {{wpl|Batrachomorpha}} and {{wpl|Reptiliomorpha||.}} Batrachomorpha includes all modern amphibians as well as extinct ones that are more closely related to modern-day frogs than they are to snakes or humans. Reptiliomorpha is the opposite, containing all animals related more closely to snakes than to frogs, with all modern-day reptilomorphs being in {{wpl|Amniota||.}} Amniota is split into {{wpl|Synapsida||,}} which contains mammals and their ancestors up to the synapsid-sauropsid split, and {{wpl|Sauropsida||,}} which contains all modern-day reptiles, including birds, as well as their ancestors up to the synapsid-sauropsid split.

==Evolutionary history==
===Development of notochord===
How chordates developed from earlier deuterostomes is still a topic of debate in [[biology]], and our understanding of the topic has shifted quite a bit in the last couple of decades alone.<ref>[https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.917101 New Approaches in Chordate and Vertebrate Evolution and Development], Juan Pascual-Anaya et al., ''Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology'' 10, 2022 10.3389/fcell.2022.917101 2296-634X</ref> When looking for how the first chordates may have evolved, it is useful to look at the chordates' closest relatives (hemichordates and echinoderms) and see what they have in common using morphological, chemical, and genetic data. By doing this, and looking back to the protostomes that they likely split from, it can be inferred that the notochord and dorsal nerve cord likely developed from the ventral nerve cord, while the deuterostome mouth that the three phyla share likely developed from amphistomy, or the division of blastopores in embryos, similarly to what happens with nematodes.<ref>[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26486096/ Evolution of deuterostomy - and origin of the chordates], Claus Nielsen, ''Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc.'' 2017 Feb;92(1):316-325 doi: 10.1111/brv.12229 Epub 2015 Oct 21 PMID: 26486096</ref>

===Development of vertebrae===
Chemical analysis suggests that the invertebrate to vertebrate transition was preceded by a whole gene duplication, which allowed the copies of the genes to take on many [[mutation]]s without impeding the primary set of [[genes]], allowing such a massive evolutionary leap.<ref>[https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/6/5/993/5498319 Evolutionary transition between invertebrates and vertebrates via methylation reprogramming in embryogenesis], Xiaocui Xu et al., ''National Science Review'', Volume 6, Issue 5, September 2019, Pages 993–1003</ref> Unlike the deuterostome-chordate transition, there are some known fossils that illustrate this transition well, such as ''[[Haikouichthys]]''. The exact placement of ''Haikouichthys'' is still a little controversial, as some consider it to be the earliest known vertebrate while others consider it to be of a more broadly-defined clade like {{wpl|Craniata||.}} Nevertheless, the animal definitely has important vertebrate features like a skull and dorsal fin.<ref>[https://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/geol431/lectures/05jawless.html Fossil Jawless Vertebrates], John Merck, ''University of Maryland''</ref>

===Development of jaws===
During embryonic development of gnathostomes, the front pharyngeal arch develops into a jaw, while the rest of them develop into gills. This suggests that the jaw has its origin as a specialized gill.<ref>[https://keck.usc.edu/how-did-vertebrates-first-evolve-jaws/ How did vertebrates first evolve jaws?], Cristy Lytal, ''Keck School of Medicine of USC'' 28 June 2022</ref> Among the earliest known fish to have jaws are the now extinct [[placoderm]]s (also known as "armoured fish"), although their jaws had bony plates rather than any true "teeth".<ref>[https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/basalfish/placodermi.html Introduction to the Placodermi], ''University of California Museum of Paleontology''</ref>

===Development of limbs===
The evolution of limbs is perhaps the most important milestone in tetrapod evolution, but before tetrapods could develop limbs, their ancestors needed to develop paired fins. There have been a few competing theories on how paired fins first developed, but recently discovered fossils of ''Tujiaaspis'', a jawless fish in the taxa {{wpl|Galeaspida||,}} suggest that paired fins developed from an earlier fin on top of the animal folding over both sides of the fish and later splitting into two paired fins on opposite sides.<ref>[https://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/news/2022/dead-fish-breathes-new-life-into-the-evolutionary-origin-of-fins-and-limbs.html Dead fish breathes new life into the evolutionary origin of fins and limbs], ''University of Bristol''</ref> The fin-to-limb transition is perhaps best illustrated by ''[[Tiktaalik]]'', a lobe-finned fish right in the middle of it, and an analysis of its skeleton shows that it already had muscles propping it up in its fins and asymetries between its two pairs of fins that allowed it to better be able to walk.<ref>[https://news.uchicago.edu/story/how-fish-fins-evolved-just-transition-land How fish fins evolved just before the transition to land], Matt Wood, ''University of Chicago'' 2 January 2020</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
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[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Evolution]]

Categories: Animals, Evolution