The bilaterally symmetrical soft-bodied Ediacaran fossil Kimberella is thought to represent the modern __________ group.

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Kimberella's features, such as a muscular foot and potential sensory tentacles, suggest that it belongs to the lophotrochozoan group, which includes modern organisms such as worms, mollusks, and brachiopods known for their spiral cleavage and a lophophore or trochophore larval stage. It is not related to the ecdysozoan group, which includes arthropods and nematodes that undergo molting, the deuterostome group, which includes vertebrates and echinoderms with radial cleavage and an anus that develops first, or the dinoflagellate group, which includes unicellular aquatic organisms with two flagella.

The Bilaterally Symmetrical Soft-Bodied Ediacaran Fossil Kimberella Is Thought to Represent