Notochord is unique to Chordata (it is a diagnostic feature) and is evident at some stage of the life cycle in all chordates.
- An animal belonging to the phylum Chordata is a chordate. At some point during their larval or adult phases, all chordates have five synapomorphies, or primary traits, that set them apart from all other taxa.
- The term "chordate" can be defined as "the class of animals that, at least throughout some stage of their development into adulthood, possess the following four anatomical features:
- (1) notochord, (2) dorsal nerve cord, (3) tail, and (4) pharyngeal slits."
- The notochord is the distinguishing feature of the chordates and plays crucial roles in the development of vertebrates.
- It acts as a major skeletal component of the growing embryo as well as a source of midline signals that design neighboring tissues.
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