Ecdysozoa

Ecdysozoa; Temporal range: Lower Cambrian – Recent
	Centipede (Panarthropoda)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
(unranked):	Protostomia
Superphylum:	Ecdysozoa; Aguinaldo et al., 1997
Phyla, classes, and clades
	Cycloneuralia: Kinorhyncha; Loricifera; Priapulida; Nematoda; Nematomorpha; Palaeoscolecida; ; Panarthropoda: "Lobopodia"; Onychophora; Tardigrada; Arthropoda; Dinocaridida; ;

The Ecdysozoa (including Cycloneuralia) are a group of protostome animal phyla. This is a taxon above the level of phylum. It includes the Arthropoda (insects and crustaceans), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla.^[1]

They were first defined in 1997, based mainly on phylogenetic trees taken from 18S ribosomal RNA genes.^[2] A large study in 2008 strongly supported the Ecdysozoa as a clade, that is, a group consisting of a common ancestor and all its descendants.^[3]

The group is also supported by morphological characters, and includes all animals that shed their exoskeleton (see ecdysis).

ReferencesEdit

↑ Telford M.J. et al 2008. The evolution of the Ecdysozoa. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B. 363 (1496): 1529–37. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2243. PMC 2614232. PMID 18192181. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18192181.
↑ Aguinaldo A.M.A. et al 1997. Evidence for a clade of nematodes, arthropods and other moulting animals.. Nature 387 (6632): 489–493. doi:10.1038/387489a0. PMID 9168109.
↑ Dunn C.W. et al 2008. Broad phylogenomic sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life (2008). Nature 452 (7188): 745–749. doi:10.1038/nature06614. PMID 18322464. [1]

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[pmid18192181-1] Telford M.J. et al 2008. The evolution of the Ecdysozoa. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B. 363 (1496): 1529–37. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.2243. PMC 2614232. PMID 18192181. http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18192181.

[2] Aguinaldo A.M.A. et al 1997. Evidence for a clade of nematodes, arthropods and other moulting animals.. Nature 387 (6632): 489–493. doi:10.1038/387489a0. PMID 9168109.

[nature%20phylo-3] Dunn C.W. et al 2008. Broad phylogenomic sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life (2008). Nature 452 (7188): 745–749. doi:10.1038/nature06614. PMID 18322464. [1]

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