"It is a basal organism, which by chance preserved the basal characteristics present in our common ancestor," Moroz said. "This shows that our common ancestor doesn't have a brain but rather a diffuse neural system in the animal's surface."
snip
A reconstructed genetic record reported in the Nature article also implies that the brain might have been independently evolved more than twice in different animal lineages, Moroz said. This conclusion sharply contrasts the widely accepted view that the centralized brain has a single origin, Moroz noted
Okay so its right above DU on the tree of species?
What happened to the ape theory? Now it is all the way down to a worm. Just think, you eat the worm from an apple and you just may be eating some of your genes.
Actually, the finding here, however you interpret it, is very important for expectations in xenobiology.
The latest thought concerning brains has been that since they arose only once on Earth, it would be unlikely for them to have arisen elsewhere in the universe.
Now they are saying brains popped up at least three times right here on Earth.
Makes'em common as dirt and something to expect space aliens to have too.
You know, it would be good if people could simply find new organisms without having to bring alleged ancestry with humans and Macroevolution into it.
Ping
"The Xenoturbella does not seem to have a brain, gut or gonads, making it unique among living animals".
YEC INTREP
As a lumper, I find this to be the most magnificant example of splitter mentality.
No mere sundering of species in two, but the big kahuna......a new phylum.