17.6 Vertebrates

Vertebrates are among the most recognizable organisms of the animal kingdom ( [link] ). More than 62,000 vertebrate species have been identified. The vertebrate species now living represent only a small portion of the vertebrates that have existed. The best-known extinct vertebrates are the dinosaurs, a unique group of reptiles, reaching sizes not seen before or since in terrestrial animals. They were the dominant terrestrial animals for 150 million years, until they died out near the end of the Cretaceous period in a mass extinction. A great deal is known about the anatomy of the dinosaurs, given the preservation of their skeletal elements in the fossil record.

Fishes

Modern fishes include an estimated 31,000 species. Fishes were the earliest vertebrates, and jawless fishes were the earliest of these. Jawless fishes—the present day hagfishes and lampreys—have a distinct cranium and complex sense organs including eyes, distinguishing them from the invertebrate chordates. The jawed fishes evolved later and are extraordinarily diverse today. Fishes are active feeders, rather than sessile, suspension feeders.

Jawless fishes

Jawless fishes are craniates (which includes all the chordate groups except the tunicates and lancelets) that represent an ancient vertebrate lineage that arose over one half-billion years ago. Some of the earliest jawless fishes were the ostracoderms (which translates as “shell-skin”). Ostracoderms, now extinct, were vertebrate fishes encased in bony armor, unlike present-day jawless fishes, which lack bone in their scales.

The clade Myxini    includes 67 species of hagfishes. Hagfishes are eel-like scavengers that live on the ocean floor and feed on dead invertebrates, other fishes, and marine mammals ( [link] a ). Hagfishes are entirely marine and are found in oceans around the world except for the polar regions. A unique feature of these animals is the slime glands beneath the skin that are able to release an extraordinary amount of mucus through surface pores. This mucus may allow the hagfish to escape from the grip of predators. Hagfish are known to enter the bodies of dead or dying organisms to devour them from the inside.