Ambulacraria

Ambulacrarians
Temporal range:
Various sea stars and sea urchins among mussel shells in the rocky intertidal zone of Kachemak Bay, southern Alaska, United States
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
Clade: ParaHoxozoa
Clade: Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Clade: Ambulacraria
Metschnikoff, 1881
Clade

Ambulacraria /ˌæmbjləˈkrɛəriə/, or Coelomopora /sləˈmɒpərə/, is a clade of invertebrate phyla that includes echinoderms and hemichordates; a member of this group is called an ambulacrarian. Phylogenetic analysis suggests the echinoderms and hemichordates separated around 533 million years ago. The Ambulacraria are part of the deuterostomes, a clade that also includes the many Chordata, and the few extinct species belonging to the Vetulicolia.