Pharyngeal gill slits are present in all Chordates, whether simply appearing transiently in the embryo, or persevering into the the animal itself. The Chordates phylum contains a whole load of the animals you know today, including mammals, fish, birds and amphibians to name a few. The shared features of all Chordates, including these pharyngeal gill slits, are among the strongest pieces of evidence for a shared common ancestor among all animals. This image shows multiple Chordates that will grow into very different animals. I mean, how many visual similarities are there between YOU and a salamander? Yet here, the differences are hard to discern; each embryo is very, very similar. Now pinch your nose and “pop” your ears. That’s only possible thanks to the now vestigial nature of your pharyngeal gill slits.

Pharyngeal gill slits are present in all Chordates, whether simply appearing transiently in the embryo, or persevering into the the animal itself. The Chordates phylum contains a whole load of the animals you know today, including mammals, fish, birds and amphibians to name a few.

The shared features of all Chordates, including these pharyngeal gill slits, are among the strongest pieces of evidence for a shared common ancestor among all animals. This image shows multiple Chordates that will grow into very different animals. I mean, how many visual similarities are there between YOU and a salamander? Yet here, the differences are hard to discern; each embryo is very, very similar.

Now pinch your nose and “pop” your ears. That’s only possible thanks to the now vestigial nature of your pharyngeal gill slits.

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