Chordates and Amniotes Review

Flashcards covering key concepts related to chordates, amniotes, and related evolutionary biology topics.

Chordates

Bilateral, deuterostome animals defined by the presence of four features at some point in their life cycle: dorsal hollow nerve cord, notochord, postanal tail, pharyngeal gill slits.

Vertebrae

Dorsal column of segmented bone or cartilage found in vertebrates.

Dorsal hollow nerve cord

A hollow tube formed from ectoderm that develops into the brain and spinal cord.

Neural crest cells

Embryonic cells that contribute to the development of various structures including jaws.

Gnathostomes

Jawed vertebrates that include fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

Operculum

A hard, bony flap that protects and covers the gills in most bony fish.

Swim bladder

A gas-filled sac that allows bony fish to maintain buoyancy at a specific depth.

Tetrapods

Four-limbed vertebrates that include amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

Amniotic egg

A water-tight egg that contains membranes for embryonic development, characteristic of amniotes.

Marsupials

Mammals that give birth to underdeveloped offspring that stay in a pouch with a mammary gland.

Hominids

Anthropoids commonly referred to as great apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans.

Bipedalism

The condition of walking on two hind limbs, characteristic of humans.

Homo habilis

An early human species known as 'handy man' for its tool use.

Homo sapiens

Anatomically modern humans, known as 'wise man'.

Neanderthal

A species or subspecies of human sharing 99.7% of DNA with modern humans.

Amniotes

Tetrapods characterized by their specialized eggs, including reptiles, birds, and mammals.