Ecdysozoans
| Ecdysozoa Temporal range: Early Cambrian–Recent |
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| A centipede (Arthropoda) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| (unranked): | Protostomia |
| Superphylum: |
Ecdysozoa Aguinaldo et al., 1997 |
| Phyla, classes, and clades | |
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Ecdysozoa /ˌɛkdɪsoʊˈzoʊə/ is a group of protostome animals, including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerata, crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla. They were first defined by Aguinaldo et al. in 1997, based mainly on phylogenetic trees constructed using 18S ribosomal RNA genes. A large study in 2008 by Dunn et al. strongly supported the Ecdysozoa as a clade, that is, a group consisting of a common ancestor and all its descendants.
The group is also supported by morphological characters, and includes all animals that shed their exoskeleton (see ecdysis).
The group was initially contested by a significant minority of biologists. Some argued for groupings based on more traditional taxonomic techniques, while others contested the interpretation of the molecular data.
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