chordate animals
21de Beer, Sir Gavin — ▪ British zoologist born Nov. 1, 1899, London died June 21, 1972, Alfriston, Sussex, Eng. English zoologist and morphologist known for his contributions to experimental embryology, anatomy, and evolution. Concerned with analyzing… …
22notochord — [ nəʊtə(ʊ)kɔ:d] noun Zoology a cartilaginous skeletal rod supporting the body in all embryonic and some adult chordate animals. Origin C19: from Gk nōton back + chord2 …
23vertebrate — ver•te•brate [[t]ˈvɜr tə brɪt, ˌbreɪt[/t]] adj. 1) anat. having vertebrae; having a segmented backbone 2) bio tax belonging or pertaining to the Vertebrata, a subphylum of chordate animals having an internal skeleton of bone or cartilage that… …
24graptolite — /ˈgræptəlaɪt/ (say graptuhluyt) noun any of the Graptolithina, an order of extinct early chordate animals linked with coelenterates, commonly found as fossils. {Greek graptos marked with writing + lite} –graptolitic /græptəˈlɪtɪk/ (say graptuh… …
25vertebrate — [vʉr′tə brit, vʉr′təbrāt΄] adj. [L vertebratus < vertebra: see VERTEBRA] 1. having a backbone, or spinal column 2. of or belonging to the vertebrates n. any of a large subphylum (Vertebrata) of chordate animals, including all mammals, fishes,… …
26notochord — n. a cartilaginous skeletal rod supporting the body in all embryo and some adult chordate animals. Etymology: Gk noton back + CHORD(2) …
27ceph|a|lo|chor|date — «SEHF uh loh KR dayt», noun, adjective. –n. any one of a subphylum of semitransparent, fishlike chordate animals having a body pointed at both ends and a notochord running from the body through the indistinct head, but no other skeletal elements …
28tunicate — /tooh ni kit, kayt , tyooh /, n. 1. Zool. any sessile marine chordate of the subphylum Tunicata (Urochordata), having a saclike body enclosed in a thick membrane or tunic and two openings or siphons for the ingress and egress of water. adj. Also …
29cephalochordate — /sef euh loh kawr dayt/, adj. 1. belonging or pertaining to the Cephalochordata. n. 2. any chordate animal of the subphylum Cephalochordata, having fishlike characters but lacking a spinal column, comprising the lancelets. [ < NL Cephalochordata; …
30Cambrian Period — Oldest time division of the Paleozoic Era. During the Cambrian, 543–490 million years ago, there were widespread seas and several scattered landmasses. The largest continent was Gondwana. The average climate was probably warmer than today, with… …
