title: Can we ever identify the Urmetazoan?
abstract: Unraveling the root of the metazoan tree of life has been a difficult task since the time of Haeckel and the invention of phylogenetics. Even considerable amounts of recent molecular data have not provided a generally accepted answer. Here, we review the major problems of this phylogenetic conundrum and provide some directions for solving it.
authors.affiliation: *ITZ, Ecology & Evolution, TiHo Hannover, Bünteweg 17d, D-30559 Hannover, Germany; American Museum of Natural History, Division of Invertebrate Zoology 79 St. at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schierwater
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Desalle