Position in Animal Kingdom

In the nine phyla covered in this chapter, the Original blastocoel of the embryo persists as
a space, or body cavity, between the enteron and body wall. Because this cavity lacks the
peritoneal lining found in true coelomates, it is called a pseudocoel, and the animals
possessing it are called pseudocoelomates. Pseudocoelomates belong to the protostomia
division of bilateral animals, but they are polyphyletic (derived independently from more
than one acoelomate ancestor)

Biological Contributions
1. The pseudocoel is a distinct gradation in body plan compared with the solid body
structure of acoelomates. The pseudocoel may be filled with fluid or may contain
a gelatinous substance with some mesenchyme cells. In common with a true
coelom, in presents certain adaptive potentials, although these are by no means
realized in all members: (1) greater freedom of movement; (2) space from
development and differentiation of digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems;
(3) a simple means of circulation or distribution of materials throughout the body;
(4) a storage place for waste products to be discharged to the outside by excretory
ducts; and (5) a hydrostatic organ. Since most pseudocoelomates are quite small,
the most important functions of the pseudocoel are probably in circulation and as
a means to maintain a high internal hydrostatic pressure.
2. A complete, mouth-to-anus digestive tract is found in these phyla and in all more
complex phyla.

Pseudocoelomates
Vertebrates and more complex invertebrates have a true coelom, or peritoneal
cavity, which is formed in the mesoderm during embryonic development and is therefore
lined with a layer of mesodermal epithelium, the peritoneum (Figure 15-1).
Pseudocoelomate phyla have a pseudocoel rather than a true coelom. It is derived from
the embryonic blastocoel rather than from a secondary cavity within the mesoderm. It is a
space between the gut and the mesodermal and ectodermal components of the body wall,
and it is not lined with peritoneum.
Nine distinct groups of animals belong to the pseudocoelomate category: Rotifera,
Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Loricifera, Priapulida,
Acanthocephala, and Entoprocta. Since the first five of these groups have certain
similarities, they formerly were placed as classes in a phylum called Aschelminthes
(as’kelmin’theez) (Gr. Askos, bladder, + helmins. Worm). However, they differ so much
that their phylogenetic relationships are highly debatable, and they are now considered
separate phyla. Some group the five loosely as individual phyla under a superphylum
Aschelminthes. The Entroprocta have sometimes been grouped with the Ectoprocta,
together called the Bryozoa (moss animals). However, because the ectoprocts have a true
coelom, they are usually considered a separate phylum, and the term “bryozoans” is
currently taken to exclude the entoprocts.
Molecular evidence now suggests that Protostomia is composed of two large
groups that diverged in the Precambrian: Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa. Some
pseudocoelomate phyla apparently belong in each of these groups (p. 320).
However one classifies them, pseudocoelomates are a heterogeneous assemblage
of animals. Most of them are small: some all microscopic: some are fairly large. Some,
such as nematodes, are found in freshwater, marine, terrestrial, and parasitic habitats;
other, such as Acanthocephala. Are strictly parasitic. Some have unique characteristics,
such as the lacunar system of acanthocephalans or the ciliated corona of rotifers.
Even in such a diversified grouping, some characteristics are shared. All have a body wall
of epidermis.