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

Characteristics of vertebrates

The existence or absence of vertebrates is one of the categories used to categorise life. It has been hypothesised that a common ancestor of vertebrates and invertebrates lived about 600 million years ago. Since the first evidence of real vertebrates began to emerge 525 million years ago, vertebrates have diverged into a vast lineage that ranges from armored fish and enormous sauropods to woolly mammoths and contemporary humans.

• The vertebral column and/or notochord are both stiff rods that run the length of an animal. Humans and all other vertebrates are born with a notochord, which later gives rise to the vertebral column.
• The alimentary canal is located below the vertebral column (spinal cord), and a bundle of nerves runs above it.
• The mouth is located at the animal’s anterior region or immediately below it.
• The anus, which is open to the outside, serves as the end of the alimentary canal. After the anus, the tail continues.

Summary:

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

Although all chordates are not vertebrates, it is true that all vertebrates are chordates. Animals with a vertebral column and/or notochord at any time during their life.