Craniata

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:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
(unranked):	Craniata Janvier 1981
Subphyla
Cephalaspidomorphi (disputed) Vertebrata Myllokunmingiidae

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).