Scalidophora

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Scalidophora is a group of marine pseudocoelomate invertebrates, consisting of the three phyla Kinorhyncha, Priapulida, and Loricifera. The members of the group share a number of characteristics, including introvert larvae and moulting of the cuticle (ecdysis). Their closest relatives are thought to be the Panarthropoda, Nematoda and Nematomorpha; they are thus placed in the group Ecdysozoa.

The two species in the genus Markuelia, known from fossilized embryos from the middle Cambrian, are thought to be stem Scalidophorans.

The group was formerly considered a single phylum, Cephalorhyncha, with three classes.