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Pharyngeal slits, characteristic of both hemichordata
Hemichordata

Hemichordata is a Phylum of worm-shaped marine deuterostome animals, generally considered the sister group of the echinoderms. They date back to the Lower or Middle Cambrian and include an important class of fossils called graptolites, most of which became extinct in the Carboniferous....
 and chordata, are used by organisms in feeding
Feeding

Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffix -vore from Latin vorare, meaning 'to devour', or phagy, from Greek fa?e??, meaning 'to eat'....
. The wall of the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
 is perforated by up to 200 vertical slit
Slit

A slit is a vertical or horizontal space that can open and close. It also refers to:* in computing, a feature of Blackbox that allows for applications to hide along the edge of the computer display....
s, which are separated by stiffening rods.

Rows of beating cilia cause currents of water to flow through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
, through the pharyngeal slits and out of the body through a hole in the body wall called the atriopore. Small particles in the water are trapped by the cilia in different parts of the mouth chamber and separated into materials that the organism can eat.

In primitive chordates the pharyngeal slits are used to strain water and filter out food particles; in fish they are modified for respiration
Respiration

Respiration may refer to:* Respiration , the transport of oxygen to cells where cellular respiration takes place* Gas diffusion in soil, exchange of gases between plant roots and the atmosphere...
.






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Pharyngeal slits, characteristic of both hemichordata
Hemichordata

Hemichordata is a Phylum of worm-shaped marine deuterostome animals, generally considered the sister group of the echinoderms. They date back to the Lower or Middle Cambrian and include an important class of fossils called graptolites, most of which became extinct in the Carboniferous....
 and chordata, are used by organisms in feeding
Feeding

Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffix -vore from Latin vorare, meaning 'to devour', or phagy, from Greek fa?e??, meaning 'to eat'....
. The wall of the pharynx
Pharynx

FunctionsThe pharynx is part of the digestive system and respiratory system of many organisms.Because both food and Earth's atmosphere pass through the pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the trachea when food is swallowed to prevent choking or Pulmonary aspiration....
 is perforated by up to 200 vertical slit
Slit

A slit is a vertical or horizontal space that can open and close. It also refers to:* in computing, a feature of Blackbox that allows for applications to hide along the edge of the computer display....
s, which are separated by stiffening rods.

Rows of beating cilia cause currents of water to flow through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
, through the pharyngeal slits and out of the body through a hole in the body wall called the atriopore. Small particles in the water are trapped by the cilia in different parts of the mouth chamber and separated into materials that the organism can eat.

In primitive chordates the pharyngeal slits are used to strain water and filter out food particles; in fish they are modified for respiration
Respiration

Respiration may refer to:* Respiration , the transport of oxygen to cells where cellular respiration takes place* Gas diffusion in soil, exchange of gases between plant roots and the atmosphere...
. In tetrapods, they occur only in the embryo
Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular organism ploidy eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, Egg , or germination....
 and disappear as development progresses. In tetrapods, they help with the development of parts of the ear and other structures in the neck and head. All vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s possess pharyngeal slits (and tails) in early embryonic stages, lending weight to the theory of common ancestry.

This is one of five hallmark characteristics that all chordates possess at some point in their life, along with the notochord
Notochord

The notochord is a flexible, rod-shaped body found in embryos of all chordates. It is composed of cell s derived from the mesoderm and defines the primitive axis of the embryo....
, endostyle
Endostyle

An endostyle is a longitudinal ciliated groove on the ventral wall of the pharynx which produces mucus to gather food particles. It is found in urochordates and cephalochordates, and in the larvae of lampreys....
, muscular post-anal tail and dorsal hollow nerve cord or neural tube
Neural tube

In the developing vertebrate, the neural tube is the embryo's precursor to the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord....
.

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