Vertebrata | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

The vertebrates are commonly called "animals with backbones," but this is a simplified description of a group of animals who are the most anatomically and functionally diverse on Earth. As with most major groups of animals, their beginnings are not known. However, scientists have constructed a theory of the origins of vertebrates that is generally well accepted by the academic community.

Scientists base their model of a hypothetical vertebrate ancestor on several primitive living vertebrates. At the forefront is Amphioxus, whose body shape is close to what scientists believe resembles that of the ancestral vertebrate. Many researchers have successfully examined the body of this small marine animal and it has become a popular organism for study in biology classes.

Based on Amphioxus, scientists believe that the first vertebrates had a fishlike body with individual segmented muscles along its entire length. They were small ocean dwellers who lived close to the bottom and used their muscles to contract and move their bodies and tail in a side-to-side motion. This action propelled them through the water. They had no distinct head. The brain of early vertebrates is a somewhat controversial topic among scientists, but most researchers agree that the early forms had a brain that was more complex than the simple brain of Amphioxus. However, the brain was not the highly complicated structure we see in most vertebrates today. The early brain probably carried out only the most basic of body and sensory functions. As with many animals with cerebralhead ganglia, nerve tracts emerged from the brain and ran along the length of the body. Scientists assume the nerve tracts responded to sensory stimuli. The lateral line system, present in most fish, was most likely present in early vertebrates.

Just as in Amphioxus, a dorsal (top of body) hollow nerve cord ran the entire length of the body. This nerve cord was supported by an important evolutionary structure made of cartilage called the notocord. The notocord, and its role in the evolution of vertebrates, is one of the most important characteristics distinguishing vertebrates from nonvertebrates. Although there are many other characteristics that help to classify the group, the notocord is the structure from which the backbone is believed to have evolved and is the structure from which vertebrates get their name.

As vertebrates became more specialized and increased their ability to move and sense their environment, the brain and spine became more complex. In looking at the growth of fetal vertebrates it has been shown that the developing muscles place a strain on the cartilaginous notocord. As the strain on the notocord increases with growth of the muscles, deposits of bone replace the cartilage, giving the rod greater strength. This process of replacement eventually produces the bones known as the vertebrae. Each vertebra in a primitive vertebrate corresponds to an individual set of muscles.This pattern is harder to recognize in more derived vertebrates, like mammals and birds, but it is there nonetheless.

In primitive vertebrates, the mouth is a simple oral opening that leads to the gill slits and digestive system. As the vertebrates continued to evolve, the oral cavity was replaced by a more specialized mouth and gill apparatus. Although sharks and their relatives have a primitive type mouth and gills, bony fishes such as salmon and perch have developed complicated gills with a bony covering called an operculum. Sharks are primitive vertebrates in that they do not develop bony skeletons, but even so, the cartilage structure of vertebrates is easy to see.

As vertebrates become complicated in body structure, the mouth becomes a very characteristic structure. Many have teeth that are actually modified body scales. The increasing specialization of the teeth, such as the pointed, socket-bound teeth of the reptile or the many cusped teeth of the mammals, is a major trait on which groups of vertebrates are identified. Birds have no teeth whatsoever.

Early vertebrates had a simple mouth opening through which they gulped food like a frog or fish. This structure was not only poorly adapted for capturing and holding on to active prey but also prevented the animal from breathing while trying to feed. Hunting and swallowing quick prey, like some flying or hopping insects, was problematic to the ill-equipped vertebrates. As a response to increasingly swift food sources that were adapting to life on land, the vertebrates became swifter and more dangerous. The increased specialization of the mouth proved to be an advantage for the group in capturing food.

As they struggled with larger or stronger prey, it was necessary to bite and hold on to wriggling and unwieldy insects. It was hard for them to breathe and many primitive vertebrates were unable to capture these more agile animals.

A major evolutionary trend in the vertebrates was the development of the secondary palate in the mouth, a platform of bone that separates the nasal cavity from the mouth. Mammals, including humans, have a secondary palate that allows for breathing while feeding. This means that the hunter can bite and hold onto its prey and still breathe. It can chew or tear at its food instead of gulping like a crocodile. Lions are an excellent example of how the secondary palate helps the lion to bite and hold onto its intended victim until it is dead and then tear off portions for eating.

It is difficult to provide a generalized summary of the characters of all vertebrates. The group is extremely diverse and includes fish, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. However, there are several characteristics that are common to all vertebrates and four that are completely exclusive to the group.

All vertebrates are bilaterally symmetrical—they have two sides which are identical to each other in one plane only. A vertebrate can be divided down the middle, or sagital plane, to produce two equal halves. However, if it is divided down the side, or transverse plane, the sides will not be identical.

The notocord, or skeletal rod, and the dorsal hollow nerve cord are present in all vertebrates. These two characters are unique to vertebrates.

Other characteristics unique to the vertebrates are pharyngeal (at the sides of the pharynx, or throat) gill slits and a tail behind the anal opening. The presence of the tail may seem an obvious trait, but no other group of animals has a structure that can be identified as an actual tail behind the anal opening. Some insects have bodies that extend beyond the anus, but they do not have tails. Vertebrate tails can move and provide locomotion, or balance and support, as in birds and dinosaurs. In many vertebrate groups, such as monkeys, which use their prehensile tails for swinging through trees, the tail can act as an extra appendage.

The vertebrate circulatory system is always closed, but this is not unique to the group. However, the vertebrate heart is always located in a ventral position and the digestive system is complete. Surprising to many, certain vertebrates, especially extinct forms, have an exoskeleton. Early fishes, called ostracoderms and placoderms, had bony exoskeletons that protected their head and sensory areas.

The vertebrates have become a highly successful group of animals with an interesting and exciting evolutionary story. Because humans are vertebrates, they have a natural and continuing curiosity about their predecessors who, most likely, had their beginnings about 500 million years ago in the seas of Earth.

This is the complete article, containing 1,236 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).