are whales in the chordata phylum
As Chordates (or members of the phylum Chordata), whales share the  following characteristics:     dorsal  nerve cord which is a bundle of nerve fibres which runs  down the back.It connects the brain with the lateral muscles and  other organs. notochord  which is a cartilaginous rod running underneath, and supporting,  the nerve cord-in the case of the whale, a spine.  post-anal  tail-an extension of the body past the anal opening.hey are also vertebrates, meaning they  have a skeletal system.    However, there is more to it than that, especially given that there  ar â¦ e two invertebrate chordate groups-Urochordata (tunicates) and  Cephalachordata (lancelets) - whose backbone is not in the form of  actual vertebrae.