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9. “All vertebrates are chordates but all chordates are not vertebrates”. Justify the statement.

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Chordates include animals characterised by the presence of a notochord. It is the primary axial skeleton surrounded by a notochordal sheath. The notochord is always present during embryonic development but may persist through life in some.

This phylum includes the sub-phyla: urochordata, cephalochordata and vertebrata. Vertebrates are characterised by the presence of the vertebral column. 

  • In vertebrates, the notochord (present during embryonic development) is replaced by a vertebral column,
  • In urochordates, the notochord is only present in the larval tail and gets lost during metamorphosis. Hence making the adult, tailless.
  • In cephalochordates, the notochord persists through life.

Thus, all vertebrates are chordates but all chordates are not vertebrates as they can be urochordates or cephalochordates.

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Sonika

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