Syndermata is a clade of animals that, in some systems, is considered synonymous with Rotifera. Older systems separate Rotifera and Acanthocephala as different phyla, and group them both under Syndermata.[1][2][3] This clade is placed in the Platyzoa.
A study of the gene order in the mitochondria suggests that Seisonidea and Acanthocephala are sister clades and that the Bdelloidea are the sister clade to this group.[4]
^Sielaff, M.; Schmidt, H.; Struck, T. H.; Rosenkranz, D.; Mark Welch, D. B.; Hankeln, T; Herlyn, H. (March 2016). "Phylogeny of Syndermata (syn. Rotifera): Mitochondrial gene order verifies epizoic Seisonidea as sister to endoparasitic Acanthocephala within monophyletic Hemirotifera". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 96: 79–92. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.11.017. PMID26702959.