BIOL1263 Living Organisms II

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on chordates, including details about various classes of fish and their anatomical features.

Chordates

Long-bodied, free-swimming animals including fish, amphibians, and reptiles.

Paedomorphosis

The retention of larval characteristics in adult organisms.

Cephalochordates

A subphylum of chordates that includes lancelets; characterized by notochord and myotomes.

Cartilage

A flexible connective tissue found in various parts of the body, including the skeleton of cartilaginous fish.

Myotomes

Muscle blocks in cephalochordates that help facilitate movement.

Urochordates

A class within Chordata, commonly known as sea squirts.

Craniates

Chordates that possess a skull; includes hagfish and vertebrates.

Class Myxini

The class of jawless fish that includes hagfish.

Class Cephalaspidomorphi

The class of jawless fish that includes lampreys.

Class Chondrichthyes

The class of cartilaginous fish, such as sharks and rays.

Class Actinopterygii

The class of ray-finned fish, the largest class of vertebrates.

Lobefins

Fish with paired lobe fins; includes coelacanths and lungfish.

Notochord

A flexible rod-like structure found in chordates, which is replaced by the vertebral column in most vertebrates.

Pharyngeal slits

Slits that are used for filter feeding in some chordates and are precursors to gills in other groups.

Tetrapods

Vertebrates that have four limbs, evolved from lobe-finned fishes.

Jaw evolution

The development of jaws from gill arches, improving feeding efficiency.

Dermal denticles

Small tooth-like structures on the skin of cartilaginous fish, also referred to as placoid scales.

Closed circulation

A circulatory system in which blood remains within vessels, such as arteries and veins.

Myomeres

Segmented muscle blocks found in elongated animals, like fish.

Fish behavior

Patterns of activity within fish species, including schooling and parental care.

Liver

An organ that processes nutrients and detoxifies harmful substances in fish.

Swim bladder

An air-filled organ that helps bony fish maintain buoyancy.

Gonads

Reproductive organs in fish responsible for producing gametes.

Nostrils

Sensory organs in fish used for detecting smell.