Phylum Chordata

characters that make them unique. Some have argued that many

of the characters that describe vertebrates have been derived from the same set of cells, the neural crest cells. These cells appear early in development, and only vertebrates have them. From neural crest cells are derived the skull and jaw bones.

VERTEBRATE

("shell-skinned") are any of several groups of extinct, primitive, jawless

fishes that were covered in an armor of bony plates. They belong to the taxon Ostracodermi. Thefossil of Ostracoderm are found in the Ordovician and Devonian strata of North America and Europe. They were often less than 30 cm (1 ft) long and were probably slow, bottom-dwelling animals
Ostracoderms existed in two major groups, the more primitive heterostracan and the cephalaspidomorph. The cephalaspids were more advanced than the heterostracans in that they had lateral stabilizers for more control of their swimming.

fossils show extensive shielding of the head. Some species may

have lived in fresh water.

The Anaspida ("without shield") are stem gnathostomes,[and are classically regarded as the ancestors of lampreys.[Anaspids were small marine agnathans that lacked scales and paired fins, but have a striking highly hypocercal tail. They first appeared in the early Silurian, and flourished until the Late Devonian Extinction Event,during the late Devonian, where most species, save for lampreys, went extinct due to the environmental upheaval during that time.

jawless fishes: the Lamprey and Hagfishes. Both groups have round

mouths that lack jaws but have retractable horny teeth. The name Cyclostomata means "round mouths Their mouths cannot close due to the lack of a jaw, so they have to constantly cycle water through the mouth.

also known as Hyperotreti. Some researchers regard Myxini as not

belonging to the vertebrate. That is, they are the only living animals that have a skull but not a vertebral column.
The skeleton is composed of cartilage, and lacks bone.
The earliest fossil record dates back approximately 550 million years, or earlier to the lower cambrian period

Myxiniformes

are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from

an admixture of latin and greek, lamprey means stone lickers (lambere: to lick, and petra: stone). While lampreys are well-known for those species which bore into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood, most species of lamprey are non-parasitic and never feed on other fish

Petromizontiformes

can be readily recognized by the large, rounded sucker which

surrounds their mouth and by their single "nostril" on the top of their head. The skin of lampreys is entirely naked ans slimy, and their seven gill openings extend behind the eyes.
Whether marine or fresh water, lampreys always spaw and lay eggs in brooks and rivers. During most of their life (about seven years), they are larval; then they undergo a metamorphose and become an adult. Anadromous lampreys, when adult, return to the sea, where they become mature, and live there for one or two years. Then they return to rivers, reproduce and generally die.
Many lampreys are parasites. They attach on other fishes by means of their sucker, scrape their skin with their rasping tongue, and suck their blood. All lampreys, however can also feed on small invertebrates. The sucker is also for them a means to travel upstreams in rivers. They use it to attach on stones to rest (Petromyzon, the name of the European lamprey, means "stone sucker“).

Geotria, Mordacia, Eudontomyzon, Tetrapleurodon, Entosphenus, Lethenteron, and Lampetra.
Lampreys have

an amphitropical distribution and are restricted to relatively cold waters. Geotria and Mordacia are the only lampreys of the southern hemisphere, all other genera live in the northern hemisphere.

up of cartilaginous plates and bars, but it is more

complex and includes a true cartilaginous braincase. The gills, although enclosed in muscularized pouches in the adult, are supported by unjointed gill arches, which form a "branchial basket". The gill arches lie externally to the gill filaments and associated blood vessels. Lampreys possess, like hagfishes, a very large notochord.