Placozoa - no longer a phylum of one
Abstract
More than a century ago, the simplest of all metazoans was discovered and described as Trichoplax adhaerens[1]. These tiny, flattened animals lack symmetry, mouth, gut, nervous system, and extra-cellular matrix and constitute the apparently monotypic phylum Placozoa. Placozoans diverged early in metazoan history [2-7], making them important organisms for evolutionary research [2,3,8]. Placozoans can be found in warm, shallow, marine environments around the world [9] and all observed individuals fit the general morphological description of T. adhaerens. Our analyses, however, show that the phylum Placozoa is significantly more diverse than previously thought.
- Publication:
-
Current Biology
- Pub Date:
- November 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.cub.2004.10.036
- Bibcode:
- 2004CBio...14.R944V