Nephrozoa | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Subkingdom: | Eumetazoa |
Clade: | ParaHoxozoa |
Clade: | Bilateria |
Clade: | Nephrozoa Jondelius et al. , 2002 |
Subdivisions | |
Synonyms | |
Eubilateria Ax, 1987 |
Nephrozoa is a major clade of bilaterian animals. It includes all bilaterians other than Xenacoelomorpha. It contrasts with the Xenambulacraria hypothesis, which instead posits that Xenacoelomorpha is most closely related to Ambulacraria. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Which hypothesis is correct has been debated. Authors supporting the Xenambulacraria hypothesis suggested in 2019 that the genetic evidence used to support Nephrozoa may be due to systematic error. [1] By 2024, the deuterostomes, the group in which the anus forms before the mouth in the early embryo, have been stated to be definitely a clade, fitting in with the Nephrozoa hypothesis (with Nephrozoa separate from Xenacoelomorpha). [6]
Below is a proposed phylogenetic tree of Nephrozoa:
Bilateria |
| ||||||||||||||||||