The phylum Chordata is an animal phylum which is familiar, since it includes humans and other vertebrates. Not all of the chordates have vertabrates. All chordates have the following features and in different stages of her life. Four characteristics: - A dorsal, hollow nerve chord: brain and spinal cord - A notochord = An endoskeletal rod providing longitudinal support - Gill slits = located in the pharynx, for filter feeding, gas exchange or other internal functions. - Postanal tail = extensions of the notochord and nerve cord |
What are the six classes that phylum chordata is split into? Can you list the distinguishing features of each class?
The six classes that the phylum chordata are split into are mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and arthropods. Mammals: Humans are mammals, as well as dogs, cats, horses, platypuses, kangaroos, dolphins and whales. The thing they have in common is milk, if an animal drinks milk when it is a baby and also if it has hair on its body. This shows it belongs to the mammal class. Birds: Birds are animals that have feathers on the outside of body and are born from shelled eggs. People think what makes a bird different from other animals is wing but it isn’t, because flies and bats have wings. It isn’t the answer is feathers, birds are the only animal that has feathers. Fish: Fish are vertebrates which live in water and have scales, gills and fins around their body. There are so many different types of fish and all look different. Some fish are blind, there fish that have noses and fish that eat other fish. Reptiles: Reptiles are the animal class with scaly skin, they are cold blooded and born on land. Amphibians: Amphibians are born in the water and they are born they breath with gills like fish do. As they get older/ grow up, they develop lungs and can live on land. Arthropods: Arthropods is the biggest phylum of animals it includes eleven animal classes Merostomata, Pycnogonida, Arachnida, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Branchiopoda, Maxillopoda, Malacostraca, Chilopoda, Diplopoda and insecta. These are any animal that have more than four jointed legs are arthropods. |
How are mammals classified in different groups?
There are 4,500 to 5,000 mammal species. The simplest classification of mammals are placental, marsupial and egg-laying. Carnivores: Carnivores east meat and they have sharp claws and teeth so they can kill their prey to eat. These includes cats, dogs, wolves, bears, foxes, walrus and bats. Cetaceans are carnivores as well but they have their own category. Cetaceans: They are mammals that live in the water. These animals have (adapted) to flippers and they have no hair but they are have the characteristics as other mammals. Such as whales whales, dolphins. Marsupials: Marsupials are mammals that are born not fully developed so then they mature in the pouch. These types of Marsupials are found in Australia, New Guinea, pacific islands and South America. Marsupials are kangaroo, wallaby, possum, opossum, koala, Tasmanian devil, Marsupian mole and Bandicoots are included in this group. Primates: Primates have different features that include five fingers on hands and toes on feet, have a brain which is developed more than any other mammal, at birth it is one baby per pregnancy and two eyes. This includes in this group monkey’s, baboon, gibbon, orang-utan, chimpanzee, gorilla, humans and capuchin. Rodents: About 40% of mammals are rodents. Rodents have two incisor teeth that grow all the time and have to kept trimming by gnawing. This includes mice, rats, porcupines,chipmunks and guinea pigs. Small mammals: These do not fit in any other category for mammals. This includes rabbits, meerkats and otters. Most rodents, some marsupials and a few carnivores are also small mammals. Ungulates: These are animals that have hooves and the ungulates are further spilt into odd-toed ungulates. They have an odd numbers of toes and are animals like horse, donkey, zebra, tapir, rhinocerous. The even toed ungulates which has an even number of toes which are pig, hippopotamus, giraffe, deer, antelope, goat, cow, sheep, llama, hyraxes and elephants. Bibliography - Kidzone.ws, (2014). Animal Classes. [online] Available at: http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/animal_classes.htm [Accessed 30 Jul. 2014]. Meer.org, (2014). M17.htm. [online] Available at: http://www.meer.org/ebook/M17.htm [Accessed 29 Jul. 2014]. Naturalhistoryonthenet.com, (2014). Mammals - Classification. [online] Available at: http://www.naturalhistoryonthenet.com/Mammals/classification.htm [Accessed 30 Jul. 2014]. Ucmp.berkeley.edu, (2014). Introduction to the Chordata. [online] Available at: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/chordata.html [Accessed 29 Jul. 2014]. |