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I presume that by "vertebraes" you mean "vertebrates"? All vertebrates are actually deuterostomes (see the Wikipedia page [1]), as are echinoderms (sea urchins
by kkylin 10y ago
I presume that by "vertebraes" you mean "vertebrates"? All vertebrates are actually deuterostomes (see the Wikipedia page [1]), as are echinoderms (sea urchins, sea stars, etc). Insects, etc., are protostomes, meaning "mouth first" (though apparently there is some debate about that, see references at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostome ). Vast majority of animals fall into one of these two groups, though not all, for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidaria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidaria .
Anyway, quite agree this is a fascinating discovery!
- NamTaf 10y agoYes I did, sorry. Thanks! Edited to fix that. I was of the understanding that some vertibrates were protostomes, but it appears I'm mistaken! Maybe this wasn't a common ancestor then, though it still begs the question how it went from one hole being a mouth/anus combo to a deuterostome.
- kkylin 10y agoProbably no way to know if this critter is an ancestor of ours. Though I'm not a biologist, as far as I know the question you pose remains a mystery...