Researchers have elucidated the evolutionary origins of placodes and neural crests, which are defining features of vertebrates, through lineage tracing and genetic analysis in Ciona intestinalis, a ...

The film discusses the characteristics and classifications of chordates, a group of animals that includes vertebrates and some simpler forms. Key features of chordates include a pharyngeal breathing ...

A researcher studying the last common link between invertebrate and vertebrate animals has found a key genetic change that separates the spineless from the backboned. A researcher studying the last ...

An amphioxus in the Daniel Medeiros lab is seen with most of its body burrowed into sand and its mouth exposed, as it waits for food to drift by. Photo by David Jandzik. The findings suggest that the ...