ARE THE LOPHOPHORATA A PHYLUM

The phylogenetic relationships between Brachiopoda, Bryozoa and Phoron ida and those of the Lophophorata among the Metazoa remain under debat e: when based on molecular data these groups belong to the Protostomes , and when based on the traditional morpho-anatomical characters they appear as deuterostomes. These latter characters, particularly the bla stopore, mesoderm, and coelom formation, have to be re-analysed and th eir state tested on the basis of the Brachiopoda and Phoronida monophy ly which has been established on morphological and molecular character s. Nevertheless, Brachiopoda and Phoronida belong to a single phylum, the Lophophorata, while the state of the Bryozoa needs molecular confi rmation.