BIO209 SUMMARY: CHORDATES

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MODULE ONE: UNIT 1

Animals known as chordates belong to the phylum Chordata
A group of animals called chordates belong to the animal phylum Chordata
The group of animals called chordates includes these

• Cephalochordates
• Hemichordates
• Urochordates
NB: Cephalochordates and Urochordates are invertebrates
Hemichordates are vertebrates

Which of the subphylum of the phylum Chordata is considered as a separate

phylum?
Hemichordata
There are 3 subphyla in the phylum Chordata
The three chordate subphyla

• Urochordata
• Cephalochordata
• Vertebrata (Hemichordata)
Chordates possess the following (four) features

• Notochord or vertebra column

• Dorsal nerve cord
• Pharyngeal slits
 • Post-anal tail
Dorsal nerve cord is otherwise called spinal cord
A dorsal fairly rigid rod of vacuolated cells found in Chordates is called notochord or
vertebra column
Notochord is a stiff but flexible rod (made up of tightly packed vacuolated cells held
in position by a firm sheath)
Notochord is made up of vacuolated cells
Vertebrates are known as modern chordates
In vertebrates, the notochord is modified or replaced in the course of development
into a bony vertebral column known as the spine or backbone
In the aquatic species (chordates), the notochord or vertebral column helps the
animal to swim by flexing its tail
The fluid-filled tube of nerve tissue that runs the length of the animal, dorsal to the
notochord is called Dorsal nerve cord
Dorsal nerve cord is present in chordates throughout embryonic and adult life
In fish and other vertebrates, the nerve cord is represented by the spinal cord
In fishes, the main communications line of the nervous system is Dorsal nerve cord
The pharyngeal gill slits are pairs of openings through the pharynx that serve as
water exit holes through which water, drawn through the pharynx, is passed out
Invertebrate chordates use pharyngeal gill to trap food particles in the water where
the animals live

In fishes, the pharyngeal gill develop into true gills for breathing

Which of these groups possess true gills for respiration?

Reptiles
Birds
Fish
Mammals (including humans)
In reptiles, birds, and mammals (including humans), the gill slits are vestiges (gone
or no longer functional), occurring only in the embryonic stage

The part of the animal that extends backward behind the anus is called Muscular
post-anal tail

Basic/primary features of chordates

• Notochord
• Dorsal nerve cord
• Pharyngeal gill slits
• Muscular post-anal tail
• Blocks of muscle (metameric musculature)
• Triploblastic coelomates
• Bilateral symmetry
• Ventral heart
• Limbs
• Endoskeleton
• Digestive system
• Reproduction
• Excretion

Coelom means “body cavity”

The body structure chordates are made up of three germ layers of embryonic cells

Chordates have four of appendages in the form of legs, arms, wings or fins

Inner skeleton is also called Endoskeleton

The digestive system of chordates comprises of

• Stomach
• Intestine
• Mouth (tongue and teeth)
Chordates organ of respiration are lungs and gills

The mode of reproduction in phylum Chordata is sexually

Chordates reproduce sexually

Chordates excrete (get rid of) wastes through kidneys and intestine

Chordates are a group of animals (some invertebrates and all vertebrates) that have
a notochord/backbone, dorsal nerve cord/spinal cord, pharyngeal gill slits and post
anal tail

Notochord or backbone
Dorsal nerve cord or spinal cord

In vertebrates, notochord is represented by the backbone or vertebral column

In vertebrates, dorsal nerve cord is replaced by spinal cord

Chordates trap food particles from water with the aid of pharyngeal gill slits

MODULE ONE: UNIT 2

The phylum Chordata consists of three subphyla:

• Urochordata (tunicates)
• Cephalochordata (lancelets)
• Vertebrata (vertebrates)
• Hemichordata (acorn worms)

Subphyla Urochordata is represented by tunicates

Subphyla Cephalochordata is represented by lancelets
Subphyla Vertebrata is represented by the vertebrates
Subphyla Hemichordata is represented by the acorn worms

The hemichordates, urochordates, and cephalochordates (form the invertebrate

component of the phylum Chordata) are collectively referred to as the
protochordates
The phylum Chordata comprised of four subphyla
Hemichordates are also called half chordates

Tail chordates are also known as Urochodata or Tunicata

The prefix cephalo means “head”

The prefix uro means “tail”
The prefix hemi means “half”
Vertebrata are chordates with backbone

The hemichordates are considered as half chordates

The hemichordates are considered as half chordates because their chordate

features are partial or not well-developed, and they do not have a post-anal tail

The vertebral column (notochord) is composed of bones or cartilages called

vertebrae

The Urochordata is made of these classes

• Class Ascidiacea (sea squirts)

• Class Thaliacea (salps)
• Class Larvacea (Appendicularia)

(Mnemonic: LAT)

The hemichordata is made of these classes

• Class Enteropneusta (acorn worms)

• Class Planctosphaeroidea (extinct)
• Class Pterobranchia (Cephalodiscus)

(Mnemonic: PEP)

Subphylum Cephalochordata (head chordate)

Class Leptocardii (Leptocardia)

The three invertebrate subphyla Hemichordata, Urochordata, Cephalochordata are

collectively called protochordates

Subphylum Vertebrata (craniata)

• Superclass Agnatha (jawless fish)
• Class Cyclostomata (lampreys and hagfishes)
• Order Petromyzontia (or Hyperoartii)
• Order Myxinoidea (or Hyperotreti)
• Class Ostracodermi (extinct)

• Superclass Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates)

• Class Placodermi (armoured fishes, extinct)
• Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
• Subclass Elasmobranchii
• Subclass Holocephali
• Class Osteichthyes (bony fish)
• Class Amphibia (amphibians)
• Order Anura
• Order Urodela
• Order Gymnophiona/Apoda
• Class Reptilia (reptiles)
• Order Crocodilia
• Order Testudinata
• Order Squamata
• Order Rhynchocephalia
• Class Aves (birds)
• Subclass Archaeminthes (extinct)
• Subclass Neornithes
• Superorder Odontognathae (extinct)
• Superorder Palaegnathae
• Order Struthioniformes
• Order Tinamiformes
• Superorder Neognathae
• Order Anseriformes (waterfowl)
• Order Galliformes (fowl)
• Order Charadriiformes (gulls, button-quails)
• Order Gaviiformes (loons)
• Order Podicipediformes (grebes)
• Order Procellariiformes (albatrosses)
• Order Sphenisciformes (penguins)
• Order Pelecaniformes (pelicans)
• Order Phaethontiformes (tropicbirds)
• Order Ciconiiformes (storks)
• Order Cathartiformes (New World vultures)
• Order Phoenicopteriformes (flamingos)

Order Falconiformes (falcons, eagles, hawks)

• Order Gruiformes (cranes)
• Order Pteroclidiformes (sandgrouse)
• Order Columbiformes (doves and pigeons)
• Order Psittaciformes (parrots)
• Order Cuculiformes (cuckoos and turacos)
• Order Opisthocomiformes (hoatzin)
• Order Strigiformes (owls)
• Order Caprimulgiformes (nightjars)
• Order Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds)
• Order Coraciiformes (kingfishers)
• Order Piciformes (woodpeckers)
• Order Trogoniformes (trogons)
• Order Coliiformes (mousebirds)
• Order Passeriformes (passerines)
• Order Strigiformes (owls)

• Class Mammalia (mammals)

• Subclass Prototheria
• Subclass Theria
• Infraclass Metatheria
Infraclass Eutheria

• Order Proboscidea (elephants)

• Order Sirenia (manatee, dugong)
• Order Carnivora (dogs, cats, lions)
• Order Edentata (anteaters, sloth
• Order Artiodactyla (cows, sheep, pigs)
• Order Cetacea (whales, dolphins)
• Order Perissodactyla (horses, zebra)
• Order Chiroptera (bats)
• Order Insectivora (shrews, moles)
• Order Rodentia (rats, mice)
• Order Lagormorpha (rabbit, hares)
• Order Primates (monkeys, apes, humans)
Agnatha are jawless vertebrates
Gnathostomata are jawed vertebrates

The Gnathostomata are grouped into two

Fishes or Pisces (Placodermi, Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes)
Tetrapods i.e. animals with four limbs (Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia)

Chondrichthyes are cartilaginous fish

Osteichthyes are bony fish

Chordates have a skull enclosing sensory organs such as the brain, eyes, inner called
Craniata

The amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are referred to as tetrapods on

account of having four limbs

Which subphyla of the phylum chordata have only one class?

Cephalochordata (Leptocardii)

MODULE THREE: UNIT 3

The subphylum Hemichordata has two extant (living/existing) classes

The subphylum Hemichordata has the following characteristics:

• Body is divided into three sections- proboscis, collar and trunk
• Body is bilaterally symmetrical
• Primitive notochord is restricted to the proboscis only and thus called
stomochord
• Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs
• A true coelom (body cavity)
• A straight or U-shaped gut, with an anus
• Nervous system normally diffuse, but variable
• A partially open circulatory system
• Glomerulus as excretory organ
• Reproduction normally sexual
• Feed on fine particles in the water
• Live in marine environments.

The body of hemichordate is divided into three sections - proboscis, collar and trunk
In hemichordate, notochord is restricted to the proboscis only and thus called
stomochord
In hemichordate, notochord is replaced by stomochord
Acorn worms belong to the class Enteropnuesta
Enteropneusta (acorn worms) are 2 to 2.5m long
The excretory organ of hemichordates is called Glomerulus
Proboscis is also known as Protosome

Hemichordates have the following classes

Enteroneupsta
Pterobranchia

In the Class Pterobranchia proboscis is modified into a shield

Pterobranchia (pterobranchs) are tiny, deep-sea, colonial, moss-like animals
An example of Pterobranchia is Rhabdopleura (Cephalodiscus)
Hemichordates are primitive chordates that live in marine environment

Hemichordates are represented by two living classes:

• Enteropneusta (acorn worms)

• Pterobranchia
NB: The third class Planctosphaeroidea is extinct
In Hemichordates, body colonies are interconnected by stems, or stolons

MODULE ONE: UNIT 4

The urochordates are generally called tunicates or tail chordates

Which chordates subphylum represents the most primitive of the true chordate
(most advanced amongst the protochordates)?
Urochordates

Urochordates have the following characteristics:

• notochord present only at the developmental tadpole stage; absent in the adult
stage thus, adult has no endoskeleton
• hollow nerve cord
• post anal tail
• body wholly covered by a structure called 'tunic' made of secreted protein and
cellulose-like material

• body has more than two cell layers and includes tissues and organs - triploblastic
• U-shaped gut
• body without coelomic body cavity
• hermaphroditic with external fertilisation
• nervous system composed of an anterior ganglion from which individual nerves
issue arise
• no excretory organs
• a distinct larval stage that undergoes metamorphosis
• gill slits are used to trap food particles during filter feeding
• ventral heart present with incomplete closed circulatory system
• haemocyanin as blood pigment (no hemoglobin)
• no excretory organs
• habitat is marine environment

The body of Tunicates is wholly covered by a structure called 'tunic' made of secreted
protein and cellulose-like material
Hemichordates and Tunicates both live in marine environment
Urochordates are a medium sized group of marine animals commonly referred to as
Sea squirts, Tunicates, Salps or Larvaceans
All the urochordates have an external covering or 'house' called the tunic, which is
made of secreted proteins and a polysaccharide
The 'houses' of the larvaceans (are less substantial as new ones) are secreted every
four hours
The subphylum Urochoradta is divided into three classes namely:

• Ascidiacea (Sea squirts)

• Thaliacea
• Larvacea
Sea squirts belong to the class Ascidiacea
In the class Ascidiacea, tadpole-like larvae metamorphose into adults

Body colour of species of the class Ascidiacea include these

• Translucent or whitish
• Red
• Brown Yellow
• Blue

Ascidians inhale and exhale water through the an organ known as siphon
Tunicates feed by drawing water in through the inhalant siphon
Siphon is the organ used for feeding and excretion in Tunicates

Salps belong to the class Thaliacea

The class Thaliacea has the following features:

• small barrel-shaped animals

• feed as they swim slowing through warm waters
• filter feeders
• inhalant and exhalent siphons at opposite ends of their bodies
• two-generation life cycle - one generation is solitary and the other forms chainlike
colonies

Two types of siphon present in Tunacates are:

• Inhalant siphon
• Exahalant/Exhalent siphon

Which of these are among the most advanced invertebrates in the sea and are
closely related to vertebrates (animals with backbones)?
Salps
Animals with backbone are called vertebrates
Vertebrates are animals with backbones
An example of tunicate or urochordate which possess a “barrel-like body” is salp

The Larvaceans, are sometimes called the apendicularians

Characteristics of the Class Larvacea (Apendicularia) includes these

• Planktonic (mass of floating organisms)

• Body consists of a basically oval trunk and a relatively long thin tail
• Tail contains the notochord which is retained all through the animals life, unlike
the rest of the urochordates where it is lost before maturity, or even during
embryogenesis
• Larva metamorphoses to adult
• They secrete a gelatinous 'house' that encases the trunk or body, but not the tail
• Tail has muscle cells attached to it and is used for swimming

A mass of floating organisms in an aquatic environment is called planktonic

Larvaceans are small marine chordates with a tadpole appearance with the tunicate
housing only the trunk but not the tail
Evolution by retaining juvenile traits as an adult is known as Neoteny
The trunk of larvaceans are encased in a gelatinous ‘house’
NB: The main difference between larvaceans and other tunicates is their ability to
retain the notochord throughout life of the animal

MODULE ONE: UNIT 5

Members of the subphylum Cephalochordata have the following characteristics:

• Notochord: well-developed and persists throughout life of the animal. It runs
the length of the animal from the tail to the tip of the nose on the head - a
feature that gives subphylum its name (cephalo- meaning head).
• Numerous gill slits over 100 used to trap food particles during filter feeding
• Dorsal nerve cord
• Post-anal tail
• Marine and fish-like in appearance (both ends pointed)
 • o normal vertebrate endoskeleton
• External fertilisation
• Some metamerism (body segmentation) in the musculature
• No heart
• Use haemocyanin pigment (no haemoglobin) Closed blood circulatory
system.

cephalo- meaning head

The subphylum Cephalochordata is represented by one organism Branchiostoma
commonly called Amphioxus or lancelets
Amphioxus means "sharp at both ends"
Protochordates that are capable of feeding while they are motionless, moving food-
laden water by means of cilia are called filter feeders
Amphioxus is 51-76 mm (2-3 in) in length and whitish to creamy yellow or pink
Ampioxus or lancelet belong to the class Branchiostoma (cephalochordate)

Which of these protochordate is fish-like in appearance but without eyes?

Amphioxus
The musculature of the body of lancelet is divided into V-shaped blocks or myotomes
Cephalochordates are the most advanced protochordates showing all the primary
chordate features
Amphioxus belong to the class: Leptocardii/Leptocardia (small heart)
Leptocardia or Leptocardii means “small heart”
The blood of amphioxus is colorless

Cephalisation is defined as the development of the head in cephalochordates

MODULE TWO: UNIT 1
The vertebrates (animals having backbone) are advanced chordates

In vertebrates, notochord is replaced by vertebral column (the backbone)

The chordate subphylum, Vertebrata, is characterised by the following features:

• Notochord is not present in adult; it is replaced by spine of cartilaginous or

bony column - the vertebrae/backbone
• A complex brain encased by a cranium, which protects and supports it.
• Well-developed head (cephalisation) with advanced nervous and sensory
structures
• Most have two pairs of appendages: one pair of pectoral and one pair of pelvic
appendages
• Bony and/or cartilage endoskeleton for structural support and or locomotion.
• True body cavity – the coelom
• Males and females are separate and distinct
• Gill slits are few in number, when present
• Modes of feeding: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, filter feeders, parasites.
• Well-developed ventral heart with 2-4 chambers
• Closed circulatory system with haemoglobin as the respiratory pigment in the
blood
• Variety of habitats including freshwater, salt water, terrestrial.
• Specialised epidermal structures in the form of scales, feathers, hair, fur,
spines.
• True kidneys.
• Efficient respiratory system of gills or lungs.
• Body is bilaterally symmetrical and of three parts - head (with internal
skeleton the cranium), trunk and post-anal tail.

The brain of a vertebrate is encased in a cranium or skull

The protective cover which encases the brain of vertebrates is known as skull or
cranium
Body of vertebrates are divided into head, trunk and (post-anal) tail
Segments arranged or form notochord is known as somites

Members of the superclass Anatha have the following features:

• Lack jaws hence the name agnatha (without jaw)

• Vertebral spine is cartilaginous
• Head with a cranium that encases a brain
• Mouth is generally round/ circular
• No scales or exoskeleton

Characteristics of the Class Cyclostomata (lampreys and hagfishes)

• eel-like in shape
• lack jaws but have rows of horny teeth that move in circular motion and give
the mouth a circular shape - hence the name cyclostomata. In the absence of
a jaw, the mouth cannot close and is always open such that water constantly
cycles through it.
• prey/parasitise on fishes
• lack exoskeleton/scales
• notochord persists in adults
• marine habitat with size of 10-90cm in length

Cylcostomata are marine vertebrates (animals) with circular mouth shape

Cyclo means circular

Stomata means mouth

The name cyclostomata means round/circular mouth

The class Cyclostomata consists of two orders

Petromyzontia (or Hyperoartii)

Myxinoidea (or Hyperotreti)

The Petromyzontes are characterised by the following features:

• Soft body without scales

• Pineal (cone-like) eyes
• Lack bone
• Endoskeleton made of cartilage
• Seven gill pouches open directly to exterior
• Circular sucking mouth used in parasitising other fishes
• Lack paired fins but have fin rays
• Single dorsal nasal opening on top of the head
• Cartilaginous braincase
• Ammocoetes larva metamorphoses to adult

Lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) belong to the order Petromyzontia

Order: Myxinoidea (or Hyperotreti) e.g. hagfishes- Bdellostoma and Myxine spp
Hagfishes belong to order Myxinoidea
The hagfishes are characterised by the following features:

• Circular mouth fitted with rasping tongue surrounded by short tentacles

• Gill pouches joined to a common external opening on either side
• Nasal opening at the tip of the snout rather than on top of the head as in the
lampreys
• Exclusively marine
• Elongate (eel-like) body
• Scale less body
• Many mucous glands present for anti-predator defense
• Unsupported fin rays
Characteristics of the Class Ostracodermi (Extinct)

• Small fish-like animals (only few centimeters long)

• Bottom dwellers, poor swimmers
• Rudimentary fins and bony armor
• No lower jaw
• No teeth
• Filter feeders or deposit feeders
• Marine

The Ostracoderms are extinct vertebrates

The Three Types of Ostracoderms

• Arapsid
• Heterostracan
• Ousostracan
Vertebrates are chordates with a well defined backbone (cartilaginous or bony)
Vertebrates have two pairs of appendages (1 pair of pectoral and 1 pair of pelvic
appendages)
Vertebrates have 2-4 chambered heart

Agnatha means jawless or without jaw

Gnathostomata means jawed

Gnathostomata are jaw-bearing animals or jawed vertebrates

Examples of Gnathostomes are Human, fish, dogs, cows, goats, cats etc

Gnathostomes are characterised by:

• A vertically biting device called jaws

• Paired appendages
• Interventrals and basiventrals in the backbone
 • Gill arches
• Horizontal semicircular canal in the inner ear
• Teeth - modified dermal scales
• Paired nasal sacs

The Gnathostomata or gnathostomes have vertical biting teeth

The gnathostomes include these:

SHARKS, RAYS, CHIMAERAS, RAY-FINNED FISHES, LOBE-FINNED FISHES AND LAND

VERTEBRATES INCLUDING HUMANS

All these are classes of the superclass Gnathostomata

• Placodermi
• Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous fish)
• Osteichthyes (Bony fish)

The cartilaginous fishes have the following characteristics:

• internal skeleton is composed of cartilage (rather than bone)

• body scales are placoid (tooth-like) with a bony base
• jaws suspended by two gill arches
• swim bladder or lung absent; have oil-filled liver to provide buoyancy
• claspers (modified pelvic fins) present in males for internal fertilisation
• notochord present in the young and gradually replaced by a backbone of
cartilage in adult
• ventral mouth
• gills not covered by operculum
• fleshy pectoral and pelvic fins
Members of the class Chondrichthyes have a backbone that is made of cartilage

Characteristics of the Class Osteichthyes (Bony fish)

Members of this class have the following characteristics:

• Bony endoskeleton
• body covered by cycloid scales (thin and round bony scales)
• paired pectoral and pelvic fins supported by bony rays
• bilaterally symmetrical tail fin
• visceral cleft as separate gill openings covered by a bony flap – the operculum

The class Chondrichthyes is divided into two extant subclasses:

Subclass: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays and skates)

Subclass: Holocephali (chimaera, sometimes called ghost sharks)

Chimaera is also called ghost shark

The Osteichthyes include two major subclasses

• Actinopterygii
• Sarcopterygii

An example of Osteichthyes is Tilapia tilapia (Tilapia fish)

Fishes are aquatic chordates throughout their life

The subclass of Gnathostomata that is extint is Plercodemi

Placodermi are armoured fishes or extinct

Chondrichthyes are cartilaginous fish

Amphibians are animals that live in water and on land (dual habitation)

o Amphi - meaning both o Bios - meaning life

The amphibians are characterised by the following features:

o Moist and glandular skin

o Complex life cycles (eggs, tadpole/juveniles, adults through metamorhosis)

o Non-amniotic eggs

o Eggs lack a shell instead surrounded

o Three-chambered heart

o No external ear

o Cold-blooded animals

o Two pairs of pentadactyl (five digits) limbs

The amniotic membrane surrounds or protects the embryo

The skin of amphibians is moist and glandular

Amphibians absorbs water and oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere through
their moist scale-less skin

The period in which amphibians become inactive when conditions are unfavorable
for survival is called estivation

The life cycle of most amphibians begins in water

The eggs of amphibians hatch into tadpoles (larvae)

The tadpoles changes from plant-eating (herbivorous) to meat eaters (carnivorous)

animals

Amphibians reach full adulthood at 3 - 4 years

The class Amphibia is comprised of three orders which include these

o Gymnophiona (caecilians)
o Urodela (urodeles - newts and salamanders o
Anura (anurans - frogs and toads)

Anura are amphibians without tail

Urodels are amphibians with true tail

The largest group of living amphibians is the urodels

Members of the order Urodela have the following characteristics

o Lack true tail in the adult stage o Hind limbs

are longer than front limbs o Live in aquatic
environment o Larval forms are called
tadpoles o External gills in the larvae

Frogs and toads belong to the order Anura

Frogs adapt to drier habitats than toads because they have drier skin that is warty

Toads have drier and warty skin while frogs have smooth skin

Frogs have longer and well-pronounced webbed feet (that facilitate movement in
water) than toads and are often in or near water
The largest frog is called the West African Goliath frog

Frogs and toads feed on insects and other invertebrates

The order Urodela is characterised by the following features:

o A long true tail hence the name "Urodela" meaning "evident/visible tail" o The
adults are shaped like eels o Lack a tympanum (external ear drum)
o They have small and underdeveloped legs adapted to walking rather than
jumping or hopping
o Legs almost equal in size
o They breathe through external gills as well as lungs

Urodela mean evident or visible tail

The adult urodels spend most of their life time on land

The largest (amphibian) urodel is called the giant salamander of Japan

The red-spotted Newt lives in ponds and streams in the eastern and central United
States

After reaching adulthood, skin of red-spotted Newt turns olive with red from bright
reddish-orange

Caecilians/Apoda belong to the order Gymnophiona

Members of the order Gymniphiona have the following characteristics:

• Lack legs hence the name Apoda (dig burrow by ramming its bony head
through the soft dirt)
• Worm-like in shape – body is ringed/marked by rings
• Usually terrestrial
• Practically blind
• Tail absent or greatly reduced
• No middle ear apparatus
• Sensory tentacles on head
 Internal fertilisation

Caecilian is wormlike amphibian with no limbs

The untrained eye may mistaken which amphibian for a snake (reptile) or
earthworm?

Caecilian

• Anura are amphibians without tails in the adult stage

• Urodela are amphibians with tails (true tails)
• Gymnophiona are worm-like amphibians without legs

MODULE TWO: UNIT 4

Reptiles lay their eggs on land

Amphibian eggs are laid in water

The embryo in the eggs of reptiles is protected by a thin membrane called amniotic
membrane

The amniotic membrane protects the embryo

Amniotic membrane finds its genesis in reptiles

Reptiles are animals which include lizards, wall geckos, crocodiles, snakes and
tortoises

Reptiles are characterised by the following features:

 • Dry skin with keratinised epidermal horny scales
• Bony endoskeleton
• Two pairs of pentadactyl (five digits) limbs with true claws (if limbs are
present)
• No external ear
• Fertilisation is internal and fertilised eggs laid (oviparous) on land or eggs
retained internally until hatching (ovoviviparous)
• Amniotic egg with leathery shell
• Cold blooded (poikilothermic/exothermic)
• Gut and the ducts of the urinary and reproductive system open into a
posterior chamber called the cloaca
Cold blooded animals are also called poikilothermic or ectothermic
Warm blooded animals are called exothermic

Ecto meaning “inner”

Exo meaning “outer”
Themic meaning “temperature”

Reptiles regulate their body temperature either by basking in the sun (warming)
hiding under cover to keep cool

Reptiles lay amniotic eggs that have a leathery shell that prevents rapid water loss

The Class Reptilia is composed of four orders namely

• Crocodilia (crocodiles and alligators)

• Testudinata (turtles)
• Squamata (lizards and snakes)
• Rhynchocephalia (Tuataras)
The crocodilians (Crocodiles and alligators) have the following features:

• Have a long snout

• Four well-developed limbs
A muscular tail used to propel them through the water
• Lay eggs in large mounded nests or in cavities dug in the soil
• Carnivorous on fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals

A crocodile has a very long, narrow, V-shaped snout, while the alligator's snout is
wider and U-shaped

A crocodile's upper and lower jaws (teeth) are exposed such that even when the
mouth is the bottom teeth are visible while an alligator’s teeth don’t show when its
mouth is closed

The order Testudinata (Turtles and tortoises) is characterised by the following

features:

• Shell or carapace
• No teeth but have a sharp-edged beak
• Oviparous and fertilisation internal
• No temporal opening in the skull behind the eye

A condition in which Testudinates (turtles and tortoise) lack temporal opening in

the skull behind the eye is called Anapsis

The shell of testudinata is covered with scutes

The shell of turtle/tortoise consists of the top shell called carapace and a bottom
shell known as plastron

The shell of Testidunata (turtle/tortoise) comprised a carapace and plastron

Turtles/tortoises are long-lived animals from 20 to over 100 years

The Latin word-root "test" means ‘shell’

"Testudines" is Latin for turtle

Lizards and snakes belong to the order Squamata

Characteristics of the Order Squamata (Lizards and snakes)

• Transverse vent or cloacal opening

• Skull that is more moveable (or kinetic) than other reptile orders
• Paired copulatory organs called hemipenes
• Body covered in scales
• Periodically shed their skin (a process known as ecdysis/moulting)
• Carnivorous or omnivorous
• Variety of habitats (aquatic, terrestrial, or arboreal)
• Lay eggs; others bear live young (ovoviviparous)

The Order Squamata (meaning scaled reptiles) is the largest order of reptiles with
over 6,000 living species

The Order Squamata is the most diverse of the reptile orders, containing 96% of the
reptile species

A process of periodical shedding of the skin by order squamata is known as ecdysis

or moulting
Lacertilia (lizards)
Serpentes (snakes)

In order squamata, the ability to lose the tail when attacked by predators is known
as caudal autotomy

Difference Between Snakes and Lizards

Snakes (Serpentes) lack limbs while lizards (Lacertilia) are characterised by

four limbs

• All snakes lack external ear opening while lizards have visible ear openings

• Snakes have an elongate body while lizards have long slender bodies

• Snakes lack eyelids while lizards have movable eyelids

Monitor lizards are oviparous (egg layers)

Wall geckos make a variety of noises

The name gecko is derived from a Malay word, gecko – which imitates their cry

Chameleons belong to the family Chamaeleonidae

Chameleons are distinctive and highly specialized group of lizards which have
parrot-like zygodactylous feet

One of the world’s fastest-moving snakes is the Green Mamba or Green snake
Characteristics of the Order Rhynchocephalia (Tuatara)

• A scaly loose and soft skin

• A spiny back
• A third primitive, light-sensitive eye above the brain
• Live in burrows and are nocturnal
• They feed on worms, lizards, millipedes and small seabirds

Tuatara means "spiny back"

The eggs of Tautara incubate for 15 months before hatching

MODULE TWO: UNIT 5

Birds are also called Aves

The body scales of birds have been replaced by feathers

Animals with feathers are called birds

An animal with a feather is a bird

Birds are better equipped to live on land than the reptiles

Unlike the reptiles, birds are warm blooded animals

Aves have a heart of four chambers (Four-chambered heart)

Most birds fly (TRUE)

Penguins and ostriches have lost their ability to fly (though their ancestors did fly)
Birds have a large-yolked egg encased in a hard calcareous shell that can withstand
d esiccation

NB: Class Amphibia and Reptilia are poikilothermic i.e cold-blooded

Characteristics of the Class Aves (Birds)

• Body covered with feathers composed mainly of keratin (they are the only
animals that have feathers)
• Strong bony endoskeleton
• Bones with large air spaces
• Forelimbs modified as wings for flight (some have lost ability to fly)
Bipedal- two legs for locomotion (lower part of legs has scales)
• Toothless horny beak; use gizzard to grind food
• Warm-blooded animals (body temperature is internally regulated;
endothermic/ homeothermic)
• Efficient lungs with pouches for gas exchange
• Heart of four chambers
• Internal fertilisation
• Hard-calcareous shelled eggs with large yolk

Warm-blooded animals are also called endothermic or homeothermic

Cold-blooded animals are otherwise known as exothermic or poikilothermic Birds

or Aves are the only vertebrates with feathers

• Modern birds have traits related to high metabolism

 • Ability to fly
• A beak with no teeth
• Laying of hard-shelled amniotic eggs
• A four-chambered heart
• Light weight but strong skeleton
• Forelimbs modified as wings
• Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems

All these are adaptations or adaptive features for birds

• Light body weight

• High body temperature
• Improved blood circulation
• High metabolism
• Acute vision

Adaptation to flight in birds that enables avoidance of danger such as tree branches
at high speed is acute vision

The class Aves is comprised of two subclasses namely

• Archaeonithes (extinct ancient birds)

• Neornithes (recent birds)

All living birds belong to the subclass Neornithes

All these are superoders of subclass Neornithes

• Paleognathae
• Odontognathae (extinct)
• Neognathae
(Mnemonic: PON)

Members of the subclass Archaeonithes are (extinct) characterised by having

clawed wings, reptilian style ribcage and bony long tail

Archaeonithes are identified withclawed wings, reptilian style ribcage and bony
long tail

Archaeopteryx and Archaeornis belong to the subclass Archaeonithes

Members of the superorder odontognothae (modern birds) are known for having
teeth-like structures

The superorder Palaeognathae derived its name from 'paleognath', the ancient
Greek word for "old jaws"
Ratites are birds (of superorder Palaeognathae) which have lost ability to fly

Tinamous are birds that can fly

The order Struthioniformes comprised of birds called ratites which are large
flightless birds

The Ratites have a simplified wing bone structure, strong legs, and no feather vanes

Examples of ratites (large flightless birds) are the following

• Rhea
• Cassowaries
• Ostriches
• Kiwis
• Emus

(Mnemonic: R COKE)

Kiwis (Apteryx) are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand

The national symbol of New Zealand is represented by a ratite (flightless bird) called
Kiwi

Kiwi is the national of New Zealand

The smallest living ratites that lays the largest egg is known as Kiwi

The Ostrich is the largest living species of bird and lays the largest egg of any living
bird

The Ostrich (Struthio) is a large flightless bird native to Africa

The Emu is the largest extant bird native to Australia

The following are facts about Cassowaries

• Cassowaries are shy birds of the deep forests of Australia and Papua Guinea

• Females Cassowaries are bigger and more brightly colored than males

• The Cassowaries are the world’s most dangerous birds

• They are quick to disappear long before they are seen

• A cassowary has three-toed feet and sharp claws
• Cassowaries kick humans and animals with their enormously powerful legs
• They can jump up to 1.5 m
• Hey are good swimmers

The world’s most dangerous bird (ratite) is Cassowaries

The Tinamous are a family flight birds found in Central and South America Birds

are the only vertebrates that have feathers

MODULE TWO: UNIT 6

The superorder Neognathae comprises 27 orders which have a total of nearly

10,000 species

Owls belong to the order Strigiformes

The bird that has human appearance is known as Owls

The following are characteristics of Owls

• Owls have human appearance
 • Upright posture
• Large rounded head
• Large eyes that face forward
• Most birds have eyes on the sides of their heads
• All owls are carnivores (meat-eaters)
• Hooked beak for tearing flesh
• Most owls are nocturnal (active at night and asleep by day)
• Low-light eyes
• Acute hearing

Fowls belong to the order Galliformes

All these are considered as Galliformes (fowls)

• Quails
• Turkeys
• Chickens

Falcons belong to the order Falconiformes

Doves and pigeons belong to the order Columbiformes

Parrots belong to the order Psittaciformes

Parrots have zygodactyl feet - two toes on each foot face forward and two face
backward

Parrots are zygodactylous birds

Penguins belong to the order Sphenisciformes

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds that live in the southern
hemisphere

Kingfishers and allies belong to the order Coraciiformes

All these are true of Kingfishers
 • Syndactyl feet (three forward pointing toes) and
• They have long pointed bills
• They are carnivorous
• Most species are found in the old world and australia
• There are about 90 species of kingfisher
• All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed beaks, short legs, and stubby tails
They consume a wide range of prey including fish

Woodpeckers belong to the order Piciformes

• They are medium-sized, hole-nesting land birds

• They have short and strong bill
• Zygodactylous
• Tail have stiffened feathers
• Piciformes are good fliers
• They are poor at walking
• Their eggs are incubated by both sexes
• They are non-migratory

NB: Beak is also called as Bill

Waterfowls belong to the order Anseriformes

They are strong swimmers

They serve as delicacy to man

They are raised as poultry for meat and eggs

They have webbed feet well suited for efficient swimming (some have subsequently
become mainly terrestrial)
Waterfowls include all these

• Shorebirds or waders
• Gulls
• Seabirds (albatross)
• Pelicans

(Mnemonic: SGSP)

Birds used by humans for game are called fowls

Flamingos belong to the order Phoenicopteriformes

Flamingos have the following characteristic

• They are found in Americas and Old World

• They have long leg, neck and bent bills
• Body color is pink, white, or red
• They are found in tropical fresh and salt water lagoons and lakes
• Flamingos often stand on one leg while resting
• They are filter feeders (uniquely adapted to feed on algae and small shellfish)
• Flamingos live in large flocks

The superorder Neognathae is comprised of a diverse group of modern birds

The only vertebrates endowed with feathers are called Birds

Birds which have wings modified into flippers are called Penguins

The following are characteristic feature of members of the class Aves

 • Body covered with feathers composed mainly of keratin (the only animals
that have feathers)
• Strong bony endoskeleton (bones have air spaces)
• Forelimbs modified as wings for flight (some have lost ability to fly)
• Bipedal- two legs for locomotion (upper part of legs has scales)
• Toothless horny beak; use gizzard to grind food
• Warm-blooded animals (body temperature is internally regulated;
endothermic/ homeothermic)
• Efficient lungs with pouches for gaseous exchange
• Heart of four chambers
• Internal fertilisation
• Hard-calcareous shelled eggs with yolk

MODULE 3: UNIT 1

Mammals are recognized for having mammary glands

In female mammals, mammary glands are responsible for the production of milk
for the newborn

The class Mammalia has the following characteristics

• Mammary glands
• Hairy skin with keratin
• A single jaw bone on either side
• Four-chambered heart
• Muscular diaphragm
• Bony endoskeleton
• Two pairs of pentadactyl limbs
• Outer ear lobe (pinna)
• Warm-blooded (endothermic/homoeothermic
 • Viviparous; a few are oviparous
• Teeth
• Internal fertilisation
• Well developed brain encased in a skull

Depending on how they are born, mammals are divided into three main
categories Monotremes, Marsupials and Placentals Monotremes are known as
egg layers

The largest group of mammals is called placentals

The placentals use a placenta during gestation

The mammalian brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems

Mammals are divided into two subclasses:

Subclass Prototheria

The monotremes are found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Platypus babies feed on milk from the mother and is born blind and hairless

A young or offspring of Platypus is called puggle (echidna)

The subclass Theria is divided into two infraclasses Metatheria and Eutheria

The following are (Metatheria) Marsupials

Possum Kangaroo Opossum Koala

(Mnemonic: PKOK)

Marsupium means pouch (built-in baby carrier)

The young of metatherians is called joey

A newborn kangaroo stays in its mother’s pouch for about six months where it
feeds on her milk

Koala babies are born with eyes closed and have no ears or fur (body hair)

Koala babies stay inside a pouch on the mother’s abdomen for about seven
months

Kangaroos are found in Australia and Papua New Guinea

Opossums are marsupials found in North and South America

Possums are native to Australia, New Guinea, Sulawesi, New Zealand and China

Koalas are naturally found in Australia

NB: Mersupials are naturally absent in Nigeria

Opossums (Didelphimorphia) make up the largest order of marsupials in the

Western Hemisphere

The word opossum means "white dog" or "white beast/ animal"

A marsupial is an animal with a pouch, like a kangaroo or a koala

The koala is a mammal (other than primates) that has fingerprints very similar
to human fingerprints

Infraclass Eutheria are mammals that have placentals

Eutherians are also known as the placentals (reproductive structure)

The period of development of the embryo in eutherians is called gestation

period

The gestation period in whale is two years (twenty-four months)

The gestation period in mouse 21 days

The gestation period in human is nine months

 Gestation period in elephant is 22 months

Mammals are vertebrates that have mammary glands for feeding their young or
offspring

Reptiles and protherians have related characteristic features

MODULE THREE: UNIT 2

Elephants belong to the order Proboscidea

Elephants are members of the mammalian order Proboscidea well known for
having: Trunks, tusks and loose skin

The young of an elephant is called calf

The Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the largest of the three species
of elephants

Elephants are the largest land animals

The female elephant carries her young in her womb for 22 months (gestation
period).

Fully-grown elephants have no natural enemies other than humans (TRUE)

Manatees and dugongs belong to the order Sirenia

Characteristics of the Order Sirenia

• Aquatic habitat
• Finlike forelimbs
 Vestigial hind limbs
Tails elongated to caudal fins

West Indian manatee and Indian dugong are commonly called the sea cows

These are examples of Carnivorous animals or Carnivores

• Dogs
• Cats
• Lions
• Bears
• Raccoons
• Seals

Members of order Carnivora are known to have sharp canine and molar teeth
for ripping flesh in common

The young of a dog or cat is called a puppy

The young of a lion is called a cub

Carnivora means ‘flesh devourer” or “flesh eater” or meat-eating animal

Carnivorans have teeth, claws, and binocular vision adapted for catching and eating
other animals

Members of the order Carnivora have sharp canine and molar teeth for tearing
flesh
MODULE THREE: UNIT 3

Characteristics of Order Edentata (armadillos, sloths)

They have reduced or no teeth

They lack enamel (the hard thin calcium-containing covering of the crown of
a tooth)
• They have heavily clawed forelimbs for burrowing

The sloths are generally known as lazy animals on account of their sluggish
movement.
The slowest mammal is called sloth

Mammalian order Artiodactyla include: sheep, pigs, cattle, deer, antelopes,

giraffes, hippopotamus with even number of toes

Artiodactyla means "even-toed”

Members of the order Cetacea (whales and dolphins) have the following
characteristic:
• They are aquatic
• Have blowholes on their heads
• Have flipper-like forelimbs
• Hind limbs are vestigial
• Tails are elongated to flukes (like a caudal fin)

Order Perissodactyla (e.g. horses, zebras, rhinoceroses, tapirs) have hooves with
odd number of toes
Members of the order Perissodactyla have odd number of toes (odd-toed)

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera

The bat is the only mammal naturally capable of true and sustained flight Which
mammal is capable of true flight?
Bats

All these are mammals capable of true flight

Bats
Flying squirrels
• Gliding possums,
• Colugos

Characteristics of the Order Insectivora (e.g. hedgehogs, moles, shrews)

• They feeds on insects

• They are mostly nocturnal
• Majority are terrestrial
• They ave plantigrade or partially plantigrade feet

Insectivora means “insect eater” or insect eating animals

Moles have polydactyl hands also known as a prepollex

Moles are found in Australia and South Africa

MODULE THREE: UNIT 5

These are examples of rodents (Order Rodentia)

• Mice
 • Rats
• Squirrels
• Marmots
• Capybara
• Beavers
• Porcupines
• Hamsters
• Guinea pigs

Rodentia is an order of mammals characterised by:

• They have two continuously-growing sharp incisors

They have no canine teeth
Diastema (space/gap between teeth)

What percent of mammal species are rodents?

40%

The capybara is hunted for meat and skin

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest extant rodent in the world
(weighing up to 91 kg)

Beavers are the second-largest rodent in the world (after the capybara)
Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents (63-91 cm long; 5.4-16 kg), behind the
capybara and the beaver

Porcupines (spined pigs) are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, which the
animal uses for defense or camouflage from predators

The common porcupine is an herbivore

In Nigeria, the meat of porcupines is eaten as a delicacy (bush meat)

The Order Lagomorpha include the following

• Rabbits
• Hares
• Pikas

Rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha

Characteristics of the Order Lagomorpha

• Four continuously-growing chisel-like incisors for gnawing

Diastema (space/gap between the teeth)
Wholly herbivorous
• Strong hind legs for running and jumping

The difference between Hare and Rabbit

• Hares are normally wild and have relatively longer ears than rabbits
• Hares are larger than rabbits
• Hares are born with fur on the body and with open eyes while rabbits give
birth to hairless offspring with closed eyes

Humans, monkeys and apes belong to the order Primata

Hares are normally wild and have relatively longer ears than rabbits and usually larger
than rabbits
Characteristics of the Order Primata (e.g. monkeys, apes, humans)

• They highly developed cerebral cortex

• They have thumbs that are opposable to varying degrees
• They have forward facing eyes
• They are omnivorous

These are Apes (and do not have tails unlike monkeys)

• Gorillas
• Chimpanzees
• Gibbons

Apes are larger than monkeys, do not have tails and have arms longer than legs

The human body contains 206 bones of various shapes and sizes
Tetrapods are animals with four limbs (Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia)
The hagfishes are capable of boring the body of their prey, devouring all the soft parts
and leaving the skin behind as an ordinary empty shell, held by the bones

The largest (of the order Sphenisciformes) penguin is called emperor penguin

The anurans are the largest group of living amphibians, comprising about 3,000 species

Emu is the largest bird

Zygodactylous birds are birds with two toes forward and two toes back The

Ostrich is the only bird that has didactyl foot

MODULE FOUR: UNIT 1

It is believed that chordates originated from invertebrates

Evolution refers to the change in the genetic make-up of a population of organisms from
one generation to another leading to the emergence of a new organism (species)

According to the theory of evolution, all known species of organisms descended from a
common ancestor (or ancestral gene pool)

Inheritable materials that are passed on from generation to generation giving an organism
its inherited traits are called genes

Traits are inherited characteristics

Mutation is the random changes in genes or the transfer of genes between populations
and between species

Evolution: Change in genetic make-up (new organism is formed)

Mutation: Random changes in genes

Genetic recombination increases variation between organisms

A process that causes helpful traits (those that increase the chance of survival and
reproduction) to become more common in a population and causes harmful traits to
become more rare or even die off is called Natural selection

An independent process that produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a

population is called Genetic drift

In a population, the number of individuals capable of breeding is called effective

population size

Population bottlenecks are a process where the population shrinks temporarily and
therefore loses genetic variation) result in a more uniform population It is believed that
chordates originated from invertebrates

It was falsely claimed that chordates evolved from hemichordates

Chordates having a single common ancestor are termed monophyletic

The most celebrated hypothesis on the evolution of chordates is that proposed by

Garstang

In hemichordates, the stomochord (replacement for notochord) is restricted to the

proboscis region

Adult urochordates feed using a ‘pharyngeal basket’

Tunicates have an unusual heart which pumps by ‘wringing out’

Hagfishes are deep-water marine scavengers that burrow into the mud, sticking their
heads out until they detect waterborne odors of food such as decaying flesh

Tetrapods are 4-legged (ancestor to all modern land) vertebrates

The most celebrated example of adaptive radiation was reported by Charles Darwin

General adaptation, Environmental change and Archipelagoes make up what is called

adaptive radiation