Chordate identity card. How are they characterized according to examples of representing beings, basic morphology, type of symmetry, germ layers and coelom, digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system, excretory system, nervous system and types of reproduction?
Examples of representing beings: protochordates (ascidians, amphioxus), vertebrates. Basic morphology: branchial clefts, notochord, neural tube. Type of symmetry: bilateral. Germ layers and coelom: triploblastics, coelomates. Digestive system: complete, deuterostomes. Respiratory system: branchial (in aquatic), cutaneous (in adult amphibians), pulmonary (others). Circulatory system: open in protochordates, closed in vertebrates. Excretory system: diffusion and flame cells in protochordates, kidneys in vertebrates. Nervous system: neural tube in embryos, cerebral vesicle and single ganglion in protochordates, brain within the cranium and spinal cord within the spinal column in vertebrates. Types of reproduction: sexual, with or without larval stage.
