SCHIZOCOELOMATE

any invertebrate animal that possesses a schizocoel, a coelom (body cavity) formed through the splitting of the mesodermal mass, the middle germ layer in embryonic development. This type of coelom is found in mollusks and annelid worms. Schizocoelomates are thus embryologically distinct from enterocoelomates, in which the coelom arises as an outpouching of the enteron, or embryonic gut.