All chordates chare four structures. One of the is the tail. All vertebrate embryos have _<u>a tail</u>__ at some point during embryonic development, indicating a common evolutionary ancestor.
<h3>What is the relationship between chordates?</h3>
The evolutionary relationship between species is reflected in the similarities or differences in the patterns of embryonic development.
All chordates belong to the Chordata phylum, and share four main characteristics,
- Notochord, which is a precursor of the dorsal spine.
- Nerv cord, dorsally located and parallel to the notochord.
- Pharyngeal clefts
- Tail
All chordates express these structures at some point in their lives, especially in the early stages of embryogenesis. Many of them can be lost with animal development and become vestigial structures.
The tail is a vestigial structure in many vertebrates.
Vestigial structures are those body parts, genetically determined, that have been retained during the evolution of the taxonomic group but have lost or reduced their original function.
Such vestigial structures were plenty functional in the ancestors of new species, but now are typically degenerate, stunted, or rudimentary, and tend to be much more variable than homologous non-vestigial parts
All vertebrates develop a tail at some point in their embryonic life, even humans. However, this structure lost its original function in several species, so after a period of embryogenesis, this tail disappears, and its forming vertebras get fussed with each other composing the coccyx.
In many animals, the function of the tail is to stabilize, equilibrate and mobilize. But in humans, for instance, the coccyx has lost this function but is still an area of muscle insertion.
The correct option is Tail.
All vertebrate embryos have _<u>a </u><u>tail</u><u>_</u> at some point during embryonic development, indicating a common evolutionary ancestor.
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