Animal mesoderm forms by enterocoelic pouching, through invagination of the endoderm. The main deuterostome phyla are the Echinodermata and the Chordata. Echinoderms are exclusively marine and include starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. The chordates are dominated by the vertebrates (animals with backbones), which consist of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The deuterostomes also include the Hemichordata (acorn worms). The Ecdysozoa are protostomes, named after their shared trait of ecdysis, growth by moulting. They include the largest animal phylum, the Arthropoda, which contains insects, spiders, crabs, and their kin. All of these have a body divided into repeating segments, typically
Tullimonstrum characteristics of the well-known modern phyla, it was speculated that it was representative of a stem group to one of the many phyla of worms that are poorly represented today. Similarities with Cambrian fossil organisms were noted. Chen "et al." suggested similarities to "Vetustovermis planus". Others pointed to a general resemblance between "Tullimonstrum" and "Opabinia regalis", although Cave "et al." noted that they were too morphologically dissimilar to be related. In 2016 a morphological study showed that "Tullimonstrum" may have been a basal vertebrate, and thus a member of the phylum Chordata, with one study suggesting "Tullimonstrum" may be closely