Craniata

clade of chordates

Craniata (sometimes Craniota) is a proposed clade of chordate animals that contains the vertebrates (subphylum Vertebrata) and Myxini (hagfish) as living representatives. Craniata includes all animals with a skull, or cranium, as the name suggests.

Craniata
Temporal range: Early Cambrian - Recent
Pacific hagfish resting on bottom down off Oregon coast.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
(unranked):
Craniata

Janvier 1981
Subphyla

Cephalaspidomorphi (disputed)
Vertebrata

These two taxa lack proper vertebrae, which are characteristic for vertebrates according to the new interpretation, whereas traditionally—and confusingly—they were not (Hickman et al., 2007).