Where in the World.....is the Urochordata & Cephalochordata?

Where Can I Find Myself A Chordata?!?

Looking for a urochordate? How about a cephalochordate? You're in luck! Uro- and cephalochordates are located in shallow marine water in many regions of the world!!  Chordates are well represented in marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats from the Equator to the high northern and southern latitudes (Lundburg 1995). 

To discover the dispersion of chordates throughout history, it is important to look at fossil records.  The oldest fossil chordates are from the Cambrian age. The earliest discovered chordate is called Yunnanozoon, and it lived 525 million years agos, during the Early Cambrian period of China (Lundberg 1995). This fossil was just recently described and placed with the cephalochordates (Lundberg 1995). Another possible cephalochordate is named Pikaia and is from the Middle Cambrian period (Lundberg 1995). These fossils are "highly significant" because they suggest the "contemporary existence" of the tunicates and craniates in the Early Cambrian during the  "Cambrian Explosion" of animal life (Lundberg 1995). 

Home/ The Truth Behind the Urochrodata & Cephalochordata/ The Evolution of Phylum Chordata / Where in the World is....the Urochordata/Cephalochordata?/ Energy & Mode of Nutrition/ That which we share...and that which makes us unique! / Ecological Role & Habitat Use / Impact on Human Society / Works Cited / Related Links