1. Vertebral Cord: Chordates have a notochord in embryo or throughout life. In advanced animals the notochord is replaced by the spinal cord.
2. Brain: Chordates have nerve cords. The anterior end of the nerve cord forms the brain.
3. Symmetry: The posterior part of the nerve cord of Chordata animals forms the symphysis.
4. Pharyngeal gill openings: Chordates have pharyngeal gill openings at any stage of life or throughout life.
5. Heart: Cordata animals have a well-formed heart. The heart is always located at the apex of the intestine.
6. Endostyle: Chordata animals have endostyle. The endostyle later transforms into the thyroid gland.
7. Digestive System: Chordata have complete digestive system. It contains intracellular and extracellular digestive glands.
8. Tail: Cordatas have a post-anal segment elastic tail. Sometimes the tail can get lost during the transition.
9. Circulatory system: Chordates have closed circulatory system. It is made up of blood, blood vessels and blood vessels. It has hepatic portal system.
10. Excretory system: The main excretory system of chordates consists of a pair of kidneys. Through this, nitrogenous wastes are removed from the body.
11. Body skin: The body skin of chordata animals consists of epidermis (derived from ectoderm) and dermis (derived from mesoderm).
12. Endoskeleton: The endoskeleton of chordates is made up of bone or cartilage.
13. Eyes: Cordatas eyes are simple in nature. It originates from the brain.
14. Legs: Vertebrate animals have two pairs of legs.
15. Segmentation: Segmentation of chordates is limited to body wall, brain and tail.
16. Genus: Chordata are unisexual. They have sex. Asexual reproduction is absent.
17. Osmoregulation: Osmoregulation of chordates occurs through the kidneys.
18. Silome: True silome is present in the body of chordates. Surrounding the heart is the pericardial cavity.
[key words to remember features: spinal cord, brain, mesentery, pharyngeal pharynx, endostyle, tail]