Question

What are the affinites between echinoderms and chordates and hemichordates?

Answer 1

Answer:

The main difference between echinoderms and chordates is that the echinoderms have a mesodermal skeleton made up of calcite known as ossicles whereas chordates have an internal skeleton made up of bones and cartilages. Furthermore, echinoderms show radial symmetry while chordates show bilateral symmetry. Moreover, echinoderms have a nerve net without any central point while chordates have a central nervous system known as notochord or neural tube.

Echinoderms and chordates are two closely-related groups of animals classified under the clade Bilateria. Also, they are deuterostomes whose blastopore develops into the anus.