Chordates are
animals possessing a
notochord, a hollow
dorsal nerve cord,
pharyngeal slits, an
endostyle, and a post-anal
tail for at least some period of their life cycles. Taxonomically, the phylum includes the subphyla
Vertebrata, which includes
mammals,
fish,
amphibians,
reptiles and
birds;
Tunicata, which includes
salps and
sea squirts; and
Cephalochordata, comprising the
lancelets. Members of the phylum Chordata are
bilaterally symmetric,
deuterostome coelomates, and the vertebrate chordates display
segmentation.