Deuterostome

superphylum or infrakingdom of bilateral animals

Deuterostomes are a nephrozoan superphylum of bilaterian animals, a taxon above the level of phylum. It is not part of the usual system of classification.

Deuterostomia
Temporal range: late Ediacaran – Recent
A sea cucumber
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Grobben, 1908
Phyla and clades

They are bilateral animals, and are contrasted with the protostomes. Deuterostomes are distingued by their embryo: in deuterostomes, the first opening (the blastopore) becomes the anus, while in protostomes it becomes the mouth.

Classification

change

These are the living phyla of deuterostomes:

This is an extinct deuterostome clade: