Deuterostomes and Vertebrate Diversity

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to deuterostomes and vertebrate diversity, focusing on the characteristics of different phyla, evolutionary developments, and specific species.

Deuterostome

A group of animals that includes echinoderms and chordates, characterized by the development where the blastopore becomes the anus.

Phylum Echinodermata

A phylum of deuterostomes that includes sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, known for their spiny endoskeleton and water vascular system.

Spiny endoskeleton

A key characteristic of echinoderms made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), located beneath the epidermis.

Water vascular system

A hydraulic system unique to echinoderms that facilitates movement, gas exchange, and feeding through fluid-filled tubes and chambers.

Pisaster ochraceus

A species of sea star known for its role as a keystone species in intertidal communities.

Keystone species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance, crucial for maintaining the structure of an ecological community.

Subphylum Vertebrata

A subphylum of chordates that includes animals with a backbone or vertebral column, such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Amniotic egg

An egg that contains extraembryonic membranes which provide protection and an aquatic environment for the embryo, typical in reptiles and mammals.

Tetrapods

Four-limbed vertebrates that include amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, evolved from lobe-finned fishes.

Monotremes

A clade of egg-laying mammals, including platypuses and echidnas, that possess mammary glands but lack nipples.

Marsupials

A group of mammals characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young that continue to develop in a pouch, such as kangaroos and koalas.

Eutherians

Also known as placental mammals, they give birth to well-developed young after a longer gestation period, nourished via a placenta.

Hominins

A group consisting of modern humans and their extinct relatives, characterized by bipedalism and advanced tool-making skills.