Phylum Chordata
.Chordates include organisms that have a notochord, which is a dorsal hollow nerve cord. The fossils featured below are all vertebrates, a large group of animals with backbones. The Class Chondrichthyes include fish with cartilage and include sharks, rays and skates. Shark teeth are common in the fossil record. Class Osteichthyes includes bony fish, which include both ray and lobe-finned fish. Class Reptilia includes dinosaurs and other reptiles. Other classes (not featured here) include Classes Amphibians, Aves, and Mammals. Still disputed in its classification, the Tullymonster is a fossil unique to Illinois, found in the Mazon Creek fossil bed. This creature is closely related to the lamprey.
Marine nektonic organism.
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Marine nektonic organism.
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Terrestrial vertebrate.
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Marine nektonic organism.
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