Parazoa

Parazoa; Temporal range:
	Sponge
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Subkingdom:	Parazoa; Grant & Todd, 1838
Taxa
	(Partial list) Euparazoa/ Porifera s.l (Eumetazoa hypothesis) Porifera s.s (Mordern sponges) (Eumetazoa/Complexa hypothesis; see below); Cyatha (Sponges with cyath (Seemingly rusty) body plan) (Archaeocyatha s.lmo or sensu latissimo) Eucyatha (Archaeocyatha s.l) Radiozoa (Radiocyatha s.l) Cribricyatha†; Radiocyatha†; ; Archaeocyatha†; ; Eocyathispongia† (Monotypic member of class protocyatha); ; Otavia† (Sole member of Protospongia); Ctenophora? (Myriazoa/Complexa hypothesis); ; Vendobionta† (Always); Placozoa?; See List of ediacaran genera for more (Select creatures only)
Synonyms
	Enantiozoa, Delage 1892; Porifera s.lmo;

Parazoa (Parazoa, gr. Παρα-, para, "next to", and ζωα, zoa, "animals") are a taxon with subkingdom category that is located at the base of the phylogenetic tree of the animal kingdom in opposition to the subkingdom Eumetazoa; they group together the most primitive forms, characterized by not having proper tissues or that, in any case, these tissues are only partially differentiated. They generally group a single phylum, Porifera, which lack muscles, nerves and internal organs, which in many cases resembles a cell colony rather than a multicellular organism itself. All other animals are eumetazoans and Agnotozoans (Agnotozoans are possibly fake or even nonexistent in studies), which do have differentiated tissues.

On occasion, Parazoa reunites Porifera with Archaeocyatha, a group of extinct sponges sometimes considered a separate phylum. In other cases, Placozoa is included, depending on the authors.

Parazoa can be sister to “Complexa” With Parahoxozoa and agnotozoa together as complexa, being a sister group to Parazoa.