Best example of an adult that doesn't: Sea Squirt or Tunicate. The larvae have a notochord but the sessile adults do not.
An adult sea squirt has an endostyle and pharyngeal slits which are two of the five hallmark characteristics of chordates.
humans are vertebrates as hey have the vertebral column(to be more specific the notochord). u can feel your vertebral column by placing your hand on your back.the bony structure that seems to divide your back into two equal halves is nothing but your vertebral column.
To answer the question in the simplest way, the manatee has a backbone.However, there is more to it than that, especially given that there are two invertebrate chordate groups - Urochordata (tunicates) and Cephalachordata (lancelets) - whose backbone is not in the form of actual vertebrae.As Chordates (or members of the phylum Chordata), manatees share the following characteristics:dorsal nerve cord which is a bundle of nerve fibres which runs down the back. It connects the brain with the lateral muscles and other organs.notochord which is a cartilaginous rod running underneath, and supporting, the nerve cord - in the case of the manatee, a spine.post-anal tail - an extension of the body past the anal opening. (This feature is not always present in some adult Chordates such as frogs and humans, but it is present in the manatee.)Pharyngeal pouches - Chordates, at some stage of their life, have pharyngeal grooves and pouches that develop into other essential parts of their anatomy.
Frogs are an example of organisms in a pond ecosystem that completely change their physical features and food source when they become adults. They undergo metamorphosis from tadpoles that feed on algae and plants to adult frogs that have a carnivorous diet and live both on land and in water.
There are three subphylums in Chordata. Two of them are invertebrates - Urochordata (tunicates) and Cephalachordata (lancelets), while the third is Vertebrata (vertebrates). This phylum includes all animals which have a hollow dorsal nerve cord and a notochord at some stage during their development. In the case of vertebrates, the notochord is present in the embryo, and develops into the vertebral body. In the tunicates, the adult form no longer has the notochord. Another characteristic they share is that, at some stage during their lives, they have pharyngeal grooves and pouches that develop into other essential parts of their anatomy (many textbooks still state that all vertebrate embryos have gill slits, but there has been a great deal of development in the science of embryology to refute this claim). Chordates all have a post-anal tail, which means an extension of the notochord and nerve chord behind the anus, although this feature is no longer present in the mature forms of some creatures such as frogs, and some mammals such as people. Chordates also have a closed circulatory system, although not all Chordates have an actual heart like the vertebrate Chordates do. They have chevron shaped musculature; are deuterostomes, meaning they have two openings to the alimentary canal, and have three coelomic (body) cavities. They have segmentation which is seen in the arrangement of muscles and in the vertebral column.
Adult tunicates exhibit chordate affinities through the presence of a notochord in their larval stage, which is a defining characteristic of chordates. In larval tunicates, the notochord is prominent, along with a dorsal nerve cord and pharyngeal slits, which are features shared with other chordates. Although adult tunicates lose many of these traits and become sessile, they retain a structure called the tunic, which reflects their evolutionary connection to the chordate lineage. Overall, the larval form displays the key chordate features, while the adult form highlights the evolutionary adaptations of tunicates.
The adult tunicate, specifically the subphylum Urochordata, exhibits all four chordate features: a notochord, dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and post-anal tail. While tunicates are more commonly recognized in their larval stage, which displays these features prominently, certain adult tunicate forms retain these characteristics in a reduced or modified state. For example, they have a notochord in their larval stage, and some adult forms retain remnants of the nerve cord and pharyngeal slits for filter feeding. Thus, while tunicates are unique among chordates, they do reflect the chordate features in their life cycle.
Chordates include the vertebrates, or animals with backbones. However, not all chordates are vertebrates. Some chordates, such as the cephalochordates lack a spinal cord, and hence are not vertebrates. The term chordate does not refer to the spinal cord, but rather the notocord. This is a stiff but flexible rod that runs the length of an animal at some stage of its life, whether embryonic, or adult. Other essential chordate features include gills, tails, and a nerve cord. wish this helps... neon.crescent
The notochord is a flexible rod found in the embryos of all chordates, and is replaced later in life by the vertebral column and the main axial support of the body. If the animal you are referring to is an adult and lacking a "true notochord", it is still a chordate because the notochord has simply transformed into other parts of the body. However, if it is still an embryo and STILL has no notochord, it is not a true chordate.
Killer whales belong to the phylum Chordata because they possess a notochord, a dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail at some point in their development, which are key characteristics of chordates. These features are present in the early stages of their development, even if they are not as visibly apparent in adult killer whales.
In adult chordates, the notochord is typically replaced by the vertebral column (spine) during development, providing a more rigid structure for support and movement. While some primitive chordates retain the notochord throughout their life, most vertebrates exhibit a transition to a bony or cartilaginous backbone, which serves similar functions but offers greater protection and strength. Consequently, the notochord is usually only present in the embryonic stages or in specific chordate groups that do not develop a backbone.
adult tunicate
An adult sea squirt has an endostyle and pharyngeal slits which are two of the five hallmark characteristics of chordates.
Vertebrates differ from other chordates primarily in having a backbone or vertebral column, which replaces the notochord found in other chordates during their adult stage. This backbone provides structural support and protection for the spinal cord, allowing for greater mobility and complexity in body structure. Additionally, vertebrates typically possess a more developed nervous system and a distinct head with specialized sensory organs, setting them apart from their non-vertebrate chordate relatives.
Notochord
The subphylum Vertebrata retains all chordate characteristics even in the adult forms. Vertebrates possess a notochord, dorsal nerve cord, post-anal tail, and pharyngeal slits or pouches throughout their lives.
Yes, whales are chordates. They are also vertebrates, meaning they have a skeletal system.However, there is more to it than that, especially given that there are two invertebrate chordate groups - Urochordata (tunicates) and Cephalachordata (lancelets) - whose backbone is not in the form of actual vertebrae.As Chordates (or members of the phylum Chordata), whales share the following characteristics:dorsal nerve cord which is a bundle of nerve fibres which runs down the back. It connects the brain with the lateral muscles and other organs.notochordwhich is a cartilaginous rod running underneath, and supporting, the nerve cord - in the case of the whale, a spine.post-anal tail - an extension of the body past the anal opening. (This feature is not always present in some adult Chordates such as frogs and humans, but it is present in the whale.)Pharyngeal pouches - Chordates, at some stage of their life, have pharyngeal grooves and pouches that develop into other essential parts of their anatomy.