The progression of the ventral aorta over time, from its initial formation to the mature structure. The ventral aorta is a blood vessel in a single-pass circulatory system that carries de-oxygenated blood from the heart to the gills. In a single-pass circulatory system blood passes once through the heart to supply the body once. [ GOC:bf ZFA:0000604 http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0003085 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aorta GOC:dgh ]