TY - JOUR AU - Ou, Qiang AU - Morris, Simon Conway AU - Han, Jian AU - Zhang, Zhifei AU - Liu, Jianni AU - Chen, Ailin AU - Zhang, Xingliang AU - Shu, Degan PY - 2012 DA - 2012/10/02 TI - Evidence for gill slits and a pharynx in Cambrian vetulicolians: implications for the early evolution of deuterostomes JO - BMC Biology SP - 81 VL - 10 IS - 1 AB - Vetulicolians are a group of Cambrian metazoans whose distinctive bodyplan continues to present a major phylogenetic challenge. Thus, we see vetulicolians assigned to groups as disparate as deuterostomes and ecdysozoans. This divergence of opinions revolves around a strikingly arthropod-like body, but one that also bears complex lateral structures on its anterior section interpreted as pharyngeal openings. Establishing the homology of these structures is central to resolving where vetulicolians sit in metazoan phylogeny. SN - 1741-7007 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-10-81 DO - 10.1186/1741-7007-10-81 ID - Ou2012 ER -