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Animalia

Taxonomy
Animalia was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Eukarya by Margulis (1996); it was reranked as the subkingdom Animalia by Blackwell (2004); it was reranked as the kingdom Animalia by Ruggiero et al. (2015).

It was assigned to Eucarya by Woese et al. (1990); to Eukaryota by Blackwell (2004); to Metazoa by Adl et al. (2005); and to Opisthokonta by Ruggiero et al. (2015).

Sister taxa
Arboreomorpha, Bilateria, Bilaterialomorpha, Diploblastica, Epitheliozoa, Erniettomorpha, Eumetazoa, Euradiculata, Gephyrea, Homoblastica, Kimberellomorpha, Mesozoa, Pentaradialomorpha, Tetraradialomorpha, Triradialomorpha (syn. Trilobozoa)

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Animalia Linnaeus p. 6
1758Sentularia Unknown
1874Metazoa Haeckel p. 572
1939Macrocypris kayi Spivey pp. 174 - 175 figs. pl. 21 f. 11-13
1977Oligoopilionus Ciobanu p. 40
1984Evmiaksia Fedonkin
1989Metazoa Shoshani et al. p. 435
1990Animalia Woese et al. p. 4578
1998Metazoa Zrzavy et al.
2002Metazoa Lang et al. p. 1776
2002Eviaksia Sepkoski
2002Metazoa Sepkoski
2002Muricassis Sepkoski
2002Sentularia Sepkoski
2002Subtilicyathus Sepkoski
2004Animalia Blackwell p. 274
2005Animalia Adl et al. p. 401 figs. Table 1
2005Metazoa Adl et al. p. 401 figs. Table 1
2015Animalia Ruggiero et al. p. 17

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Unr. Animalia Linnaeus 1758
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Unr. †Bilateria
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Unr. Acoelomorpha Ehlers 1985
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Invalid names: Mastigocystia [synonym]
Invalid names: Acoela [empty], Nemertodermatida [empty]
Unr. †Dickinsoniomorpha Erwin et al. 2011
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G. †Andiva Fedonkin 2002
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Andiva ivantsovi Fedonkin 2002
G. †Dickinsonia Sprigg 1947
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Dickinsonia brachina Wade 1972
Dickinsonia costata Sprigg 1947
Dickinsonia elongata Glaessner and Wade 1966
Dickinsonia lissa Wade 1972
Dickinsonia minima Sprigg 1949
Dickinsonia rex Jenkins 1992
Dickinsonia spriggi Harrington and Moore 1955
Dickinsonia tenuis Glaessner and Wade 1966
G. †Epibaion Ivantsov and Malakhovskaya 2002
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Epibaion axiferus Ivantsov and Malakhovskaya 2002
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Windermeria aitkeni Narbonne 1994
Unr. Eubilateria Ax 1987
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Unr. Deuterostomia Grobben 1908
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Unr. †Ambulacraria
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Unr. †Cambroernids Caron et al. 2010
Ph. Echinodermata Klein 1754
Ph. Hemichordata Bateson 1885 [acorn worm]
Unr. †Vetulocystida Shu et al. 2002
Ph. Chordata Haeckel 1874
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Subph. Cephalochordata Haeckel 1866 [lancelet]
Subph. †Conodontophorida Eichenberg 1930
Subph. Craniata Linnaeus 1758
G. †Metaspriggina Simonetta and Insom 1993
Subph. Tunicata Lamarck 1816 [tunicate]
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Invalid names: Urochordata Lankester 1877 [synonym]
G. †Undichna Anderson 1976
Subph. Vertebrata Lamarck 1801 [vertebrate]
Invalid names: Olfactores Jefferies 1991 [empty]
Unr. †Saccorhytida Han et al. 2017
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Fm. †Saccorhytidae Han et al. 2017
Ph. †Vetulicolia Shu 2001
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Cl. †Banffozoa Caron 2006
G. †Shenzianyuloma McMenamin 2019
Cl. †Vetulicolida Chen and Zhou 1997
Invalid names: Neorenalia [synonym], Xenacoelomorpha Philippe et al. 2011 [empty]
Unr. Protostomia Grobben 1908
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Unr. †Ecdysozoa
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Unr. Cycloneuralia Ahlrichs 1995
Unr. †Scalidophora
Invalid names: Nematozoa Zrzavy et al. 1998 [empty]
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Unr. Chaetognathifera Park et al. 2024
Unr. †Platyzoa Cavalier-Smith 1998
Unr. †Trochozoa
Invalid names: Brachiozoa Cavalier-Smith 1998 [empty]
G. †Ikaria Evans et al. 2020
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Ikaria wariootia Evans et al. 2020
G. †Rhombocorniculum Walliser 1958
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G. †Siphusauctum O’Brien and Caron 2012
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Siphusauctum gregarium O’Brien and Caron 2012
Siphusauctum lloydguntheri Kimmig et al. 2017
Or. †Hyolithelminthida Fischer 1962
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G. †Byronia
Fm. †Hyolithellidae Walcott 1886
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G. †Barella Herdström 1930
G. †Hexagonellus Parkhaev and Demidenko 2010
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Hexagonellus kuzminae Parkhaev and Demidenko 2010
G. †Hyolithellus Billings 1872
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Hyolithellus decorus Chen 1984
Hyolithellus filiformis Bengtson et al. 1990
Hyolithellus grandis Rozanov et al. 1969
Hyolithellus insolitus Voronin et al. 1982
Hyolithellus isiticus Rozanov et al. 1969
Hyolithellus micans Billings 1871
Hyolithellus papillatus Walcott 1912
Hyolithellus rectus Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
Hyolithellus sinuosus Cobbold 1921
Hyolithellus tenuis Rozanov and Missarzhevsky 1966
Hyolithellus vitricus Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
Hyolithellus vladimirovae Rozanov and Missarzhevsky 1966
Invalid names: Rhabdochites [synonym]
G. †Pseudorthotheca Cobbold 1935
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Pseudorthotheca costata Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
Pseudorthotheca filosa Cobbold 1935
Pseudorthotheca rara Vasil’yeva 1994
Pseudorthotheca yichangensis Qian et al. 1979
G. †Koksuja Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
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Koksuja costulifera Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
Fm. †Torellellidae Holm 1893
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G. †Annelitellus Qian 1989
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Invalid names: Annelitellus rotundapiculus Qian 1989 [synonym]
G. †Ruchtonia Cobbold and Pocock 1934
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Ruchtonia lata Cobbold and Pocock 1934
G. †Rushtonia Cobbold and Pocock 1934
G. †Torellella Holm 1893
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Torellella biconvexa Rozanov et al. 1969
Torellella curva Rozanov and Missarzhevsky 1966
Torellella explicata Missarzhevsky and Mambetov 1981
Torellella guizhouensis Qian and Yin 1984
Torellella laevigata Linnarsson 1871
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Invalid names: Torellella latiuscula Vasil’yeva 1998 [synonym]
Torellella lentiformis Syssoiev 1962
G. †Namalia Germs 1968
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Namalia villiersiensis Germs 1968
G. †Westgardia Rowland and Carlson 1983
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Westgardia gigantea Rowland and Carlson 1983
Invalid names: Diploblastica Lankester 1877 [empty], Homoblastica Lankester 1877 [empty], Metazoa Haeckel 1874 [synonym], Vertebrosa Gray 1821 [empty]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
S. M. Adl et al. 2005Reproduction through an egg cell, usually fertilized by a monociliated sperm cell with acrosome; embryonic development with blastula and gastrulation, with dif- ferentiation into endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm, and neuroderm; tissues organized into organs that share tasks for the individual, unless secondarily lost; some sec- ondarily reduced to small number of cells (e.g. Myxozoa Grasse ́, 1970); coordina- tion of cells and tissues by membrane receptors that respond to ligands through elaborate signal transduction; characteristic cell–cell junctions with belt desmo- somes (zonulae adherentes); basal lamina and extracellular matrix with collagen and other fibrous proteins (laminin, nidogen, and perlecan); heterotrophic nutrition with secretion of digestive enzymes and osmotrophy through a digestive tract; without cell wall; ectoderm completely surrounding body, and endoderm surround- ing a digestive tract; sensory cells in epithelium; nervous tissue in organized network; epithelial contractile cells between endoderm–ectoderm use actin-myosin. Subdivisions not shown.