Question

The sister taxon of the Chordata is the _____.

a. Mollusca

b. Arthropoda

c. Ambulacraria

d. Rotifera

Short answer

Option c is the correct answer.

Step-by-step solution

Introduction

The superphylum Deuterostomia includes the phyla Echinodermata and Chordata, which is the phylum that includes humans.

The explanation for the correct answer.

The Chordata and the Ambulacraria are the two main clades that make up the deuterostomes. The vertebrates and the urochordates and cephalochordates subphyla of invertebrates are all members of the Chordata. Echinoderms and hemichordates, which were long thought to represent a chordate subphylum, are members of the Ambulacraria.

The explanation for the incorrect options.

The rest of the options given are separate phylum that has no link with Chordata.