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Glite Dictionary
phylum Chordata

phylum Chordata

6.6
A major animal group with a backbone or soft rod along the back at some stage, like mammals
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪləm ˈkɔrdətə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : filo Chordata
  • To understand vertebrate evolution, one must study the characteristics of the phylum Chordata.

Examples

  • The scientist explained that the features of the frog place it within the phylum Chordata.

  • The next step down from that would be to decide in which class of the phylum Chordata it belongs.

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  • In the case of the Dunnock, it is in phylum Chordata.

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  • All mammals, birds, and reptiles are classified under the phylum Chordata due to the presence of a notochord.

Synonyms

Chordata
vsphylum Chordata
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A group of animals that have a backbone or a similar support at some stage, like fish, birds, and mammals

adds the rank label before the name to mark its taxonomic level

Surface Forms

phylum Chordata singular
phyla Chordata plural

Morphology

phylum + Chordata

This is a straightforward taxonomic label: 'phylum' names the biological rank and 'Chordata' is the specific group. A learner who knows both constituent meanings can immediately derive that it denotes the phylum (major group) called Chordata, which includes vertebrates, so the combination is fully compositional and cross-linguistically regular.

Etymology

Phylum Chordata: The name phylum Chordata comes from the Latin word chorda, meaning 'cord' or 'string', because these animals have a simple 'back cord' called the 'notochord' at some stage of life. So the name groups all animals with that 'back cord', like fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.