Morphologically, the grouping seems logical and simple enough.
Furthermore, the relationship between the lophophorates and other phyla has been heatedly debated. The relationships between lophophorate phyla has been the source of great taxonomic confusion since they were first grouped together in the mid 19 th century. Traditionally the lophophorates include the brachiopods or lampshells, the bryozoans or moss-animals, and the phoronids as well as the entoprocts which do not have a true lophophore but are otherwise very similar to bryozoans. This is a pair of spiral feeding structures that form a crown on the head superficially similar to the feeding tentacles of feather-duster worms. Questions and comments can be directed to Aaron Baldwin at put, a lophophorate is any organism that bears a lophophore. The Lophophorates (Moss Animals, Lampshells and Phoronid Worms) – A brief taxonomic history
