Answer to Question #141886 in Zoology for ramaune

Question

Name the Chordata characteristics that lancelets exhibit as adults;
explain their function and what they have become in you.

Answer 1

-They have post anal tail which has skeletal elements and muscles,which provides sources of locomotion in lancelets ,while in human beings post anal tail is vestigial ,that is reduced in size and has no function.

-They have pharyngeal slit which allows for the exit of waters that enters the mouth during feeding while human beings have tetrapod.

-They have a dorsal hollow nerve chord which is derived from ectoderm that rolls into hollow tube during development,and it is located on the notochord ,while humans have a solid nerve chord which is located either laterally or verterally.

-They have a notochord which extends the length of organism and allows muscles to attach which allows the lancelet to swim fast,while in human beings we lack notochord.