organ systems
24.4 Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebra from Latin vertere, to turn . Characterized by separate bones or cartilage blocks firmly joined as a backbone. The backbone supports and protects a dorsal nerve cord. Vertebrates have tissues which are organized into organs which in turn are organized into organ systems. All vertebrates share the following characteristics: - segmentation - a true coelom - bilateral symmetry - cephalization - a backbone - a bony skull - a closed circulatory system - chambered heart - two pairs of jointed appendages - tissues organized into organs Vertebrate Organ Systems: - Nervous System - Circulatory System - Digestive System Respiratory System - Reproductive System - Excretory System Vertebral column: Not present in higher vertebrate adults. In humans, the gel-like, spongy core of the vertebral column is the only remainder. Ruptured or herniated disc is an injury to this. Cranium: Composite structure of bone/cartilage. Two functions: 1. Supports sensory organs of head and 2. Encloses or partially encloses the brain. What evolutionary relationship could we imagine between sessile echinoderms and the higher chordate animals? Paedomorphic child-form hypothesis: basically, evolution of sexual reproduction in what had previously been a larval life stage, or the retention of at least one juvenile characteristic into the adult adult = sexually reproducing stage. Some scientists believe that this occurred in a proto-chordate animal lineage. Maybe chordates and vertebrates arose from sessile attached ancestors. Selection in these proto-chordates maybe began to favor more time in the larval stage, as feeding was more successful or mortality lower in this stage. As larvae got bigger physics shows that the cilia become less efficient for locomotion, favoring the undulating motion allowed by a notochord. Is this hypothesis crazy? A similar example of this today is Epemeroptera, the mayfly, which has almost abandoned its adult stage. Its one-year lifespan is mostly larval with just a brief day of reproduce-and-die as an adult, which doesnt even have usable mouthparts. Tunicate sea squirt larva has all four chordate characteristics, although adult sessile attached .