Uniplacotomia is a class of placozoans encompassing the vast majority of the phylum, with the exception of Polyplacotoma. It was established in 2022.[1] It comprises the orders Trichoplacea, Cladhexea and Hoilungea. Their morphology is consistent across the class, resembling the typical Trichoplax as mostly rounded, flat organisms rather than the polytomous, branching structure exhibited by Polyplacotomia.
| Uniplacotomia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Trichoplax adhaerens | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Placozoa |
| Class: | Uniplacotomia Tessler et al., 2022 |
| Type species | |
| Trichoplax adhaerens | |
| Orders[1] | |
| |
Despite a uniform exterior morphology, Uniplacotomia exhibits an important degree of diversity in molecular morphology, with at least two dozen species estimated to exist.[1][2]
References edit
- ^ a b c Tessler, Michael; Neumann, Johannes S.; Kamm, Kai; Osigus, Hans-Jürgen; Eshel, Gil; Narechania, Apurva; Burns, John A.; DeSalle, Rob; Schierwater, Bernd (2022-12-08). "Phylogenomics and the first higher taxonomy of Placozoa, an ancient and enigmatic animal phylum". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10. doi:10.3389/fevo.2022.1016357.
- ^ Tessler, Michael; Galen, Spencer; DeSalle, Rob; Schierwater, Bernd (2022-12-08). "Let's end taxonomic blank slates with molecular morphology". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10. doi:10.3389/fevo.2022.1016412.