Lophotrochozoa (, "crest/wheel animals") is a clade of

protostome Protostomia () is the clade of animals once thought to be characterized by the formation of the organism's mouth before its anus during embryogenesis, embryonic development. This nature has since been discovered to be extremely variable among Pro ...

animals within the Spiralia. The taxon was established as a monophyletic group based on molecular evidence. The clade includes animals like annelids,

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...

ns,

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

s, and

platyhelminthes The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegme ...

Groups

Lophotrochozoa was defined in 1995 as the "last common ancestor of the three traditional lophophorate taxa (

brachiopods Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, wh ...

ns, and

phoronid Phoronids (scientific name Phoronida, sometimes called horseshoe worms) are a small phylum of marine animals that filter-feed with a lophophore (a "crown" of tentacles), and build upright tubes of chitin to support and protect their soft bodi ...

worms), the mollusks and the annelids, and all of the descendants of that common ancestor". It is a cladistic definition (a node-based name), so the affiliation to Lophotrochozoa of spiralian groups not mentioned directly in the definition depends on the topology of the spiralian tree of life, and in some phylogenetic hypotheses, Lophotrochozoa may even be synonymous to Spiralia.

Nemertea Nemertea is a phylum of animals also known as ribbon worms or proboscis worms, consisting of 1300 known species. Most ribbon worms are very slim, usually only a few millimeters wide, although a few have relatively short but wide bodies. Many h ...

and

Orthonectida Orthonectida () is a small phylum of poorly known parasites of marine invertebrates that are among the simplest of multi-cellular organisms. Members of this phylum are known as orthonectids. Biology The adults, which are the sexual stage, are mi ...

(if not directly considered as part of Annelida) are probably lophotrochozoan phyla; Dicyemida,

Gastrotricha The gastrotrichs (phylum Gastrotricha), commonly referred to as hairybellies or hairybacks, are a group of microscopic (0.06-3.0 mm), worm-like, acoelomate animals, and are widely distributed and abundant in freshwater and marine environmen ...

, and

Platyhelminthes The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegme ...

may be lophotrochozoans or placed in the Rouphozoa clade outside Lophotrochozoa;

Chaetognatha The Chaetognatha or chaetognaths (meaning ''bristle-jaws'') are a phylum of predatory marine worms that are a major component of plankton worldwide. Commonly known as arrow worms, about 20% of the known Chaetognatha species are benthic, and ca ...

Gnathostomulida Gnathostomulids, or jaw worms, are a small phylum of nearly microscopic marine animals. They inhabit sand and mud beneath shallow coastal waters and can survive in relatively anoxic environments. They were first recognised and described in 1956. ...

Micrognathozoa ''Limnognathia maerski'' is a microscopic freshwater animal, discovered living in warm springs on Disko Island, Greenland, in 1994. Since then, it was also found in Crozet Islands of Antarctica.). With an average length of 100 micrometers ...

, and

Syndermata Syndermata is a clade of animals that, in some systems, is considered synonymous with Rotifera. Older systems separate Rotifera and Acanthocephala Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acant ...

are probably gnathiferans and so placed as a basal spiralian clade outside Lophotrochozoa; Cycliophora could be a gnathiferan or a lophotrochozoan phylum. One of the candidate hypotheses is presented below. The Lophotrochozoa has basal Cycliophora and Mollusca groups, and more derived Lophophorate,

and Annelida groups. With the introduction of

Platytrochozoa The Platytrochozoa are a proposed basal clade of spiralian animals as the sister group of the Gnathifera. The Platytrochozoa were divided into the Rouphozoa and the Lophotrochozoa. A more recent study suggests that the mesozoans also belong t ...

and Rouphozoa, one candidate phylogeny is pictured below – though other studies recover a range of alternative possibilities: In the most recent research, the three phyla Cycliophora, Entoprocta and bryozoans makes up a single clade and the first to branch off from the other lophotrochozoans. The second split is the molluscs, and the third the two sister phyla annelids and nemerteans. And lastly the clade that consist of the phoronids and the brachiopods. A number of fossil taxa can be identified as early Lophotrochozoans, even if their precise affinity remains contested. However, relevant Cambrian fossils are debated.

Characteristics

The clade Lophotrochozoa is named after the two distinct characteristics of its members; the feeding structure

lophophore The lophophore () is a characteristic feeding organ possessed by four major groups of animals: the Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Hyolitha, and Phoronida, which collectively constitute the protostome group Lophophorata.trochophore A trochophore (; also spelled trocophore) is a type of free-swimming planktonic marine larva with several bands of cilia. By moving their cilia rapidly, they make a water eddy, to control their movement, and to bring their food closer, to captur ...

larvae.

Lophophorata The Lophophorata are a Lophotrochozoan clade consisting of the Brachiozoa and the Bryozoa. They have a lophophore. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that lophophorates are protostomes, but on morphological grounds they have been assessed ...

such as Brachiozoa and

Bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...

have lophophores, while members of

Trochozoa The Trochozoa are a proposed Lophotrochozoa clade that is a sister clade of Bryozoa. The trochozoans clade include animals in six phyla: the Nemertea, the Annelida, the Cycliophora, the Mollusca, and the two Brachiozoa Brachiozoa is a groupin ...

such as

and

annelids The annelids (Annelida , from Latin ', "little ring"), also known as the segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecolog ...

have trochophores, although some may have none.

Groups

Characteristics

References

Further reading