Bilateria

Bilateria Temporal range: Ediacaran–Present, 567–0 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Many animals have bilateral symmetry, at least at the embryo stage, providing the name for the clade. Nauplius larva illustrated.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Subkingdom:	Eumetazoa
Clade:	ParaHoxozoa
Clade:	Bilateria Hatschek, 1888
Subdivisions[4]
Proarticulata? † Deuterostomia Chordata Ambulacraria Protostomia Ecdysozoa Spiralia incertae sedis incertae sedis Agmata? † Nectocarididae † Xenacoelomorpha Armilimax? † Bowengriphus † Dakorhachis †[2] Ikaria † Keretsa? † Kimberella † Microschedia † Parvancorina † Plexus † Pollingeria † Portalia? † Protechiurus † Protonympha † Rugosusivitta † Solza † Temnoxa † Tullimonstrum † Yilingia †[3]
Synonyms
Triploblasts Lankester, 1873

Bilateria (/ˌbaɪləˈtɪəriə/)^[5] is a large clade or infrakingdom of animals called bilaterians (/ˌbaɪləˈtɪəriən/),^[6] characterised by bilateral symmetry (i.e. having a left and a right side that are mirror images of each other) during embryonic development. This means their body plans are laid around a longitudinal axis (rostral–caudal axis) with a front (or "head") and a rear (or "tail") end, as well as a left–right–symmetrical belly (ventral) and back (dorsal) surface.^[7] Nearly all bilaterians maintain a bilaterally symmetrical body as adults; the most notable exception is the echinoderms, which have pentaradial symmetry as adults, but are only bilaterally symmetrical as an embryo. Cephalization is a characteristic feature among most bilaterians, where the special sense organs and central nerve ganglia become concentrated at the front end.

Bilaterians constitute one of the five main metazoan lineages, the other four being Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria (jellyfish, hydrozoans, sea anemones and corals), Ctenophora (comb jellies) and Placozoa (tiny blob-like animals). For the most part, bilateral embryos are triploblastic, having three germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. Except for a few phyla (i.e. flatworms and gnathostomulids), bilaterians have complete digestive tracts with a separate mouth and anus. Some bilaterians (the acoelomates) lack body cavities, while others have a primary body cavity derived from the blastocoel, or a secondary cavity, the coelom.