The Lophotrochozoa ("crest-bearing animals") are one of three major groupings of protostome animals. The taxon was introduced in 1995 in a paper by Kenneth M Halanych et al. based on molecular data. Molecular evidence such as a result of studies of the evolution of small-subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) supports the monophyly of the phyla listed in the infobox shown at right. The Lophotrochozoa comprise two groups, the trochozoans and the lophophorata. The exact relationships between the different… (More on Lophotrochozoa)