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A CLADISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE PHYLA OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM BY RAFF (2001)

Figure adapted from Raff (2001), a summary of ribosomal DNA sequences from “several laboratories”.  This tree is a fairly conservative view of the relationships between the major animal taxa exclusive of the pseudocoelomates.  The Cnidaria and Ctenophora form a single clade as do the bilateria.  As in most older phylogenies, the Platyhelminthes form a sister group to the rest of the bilateria.