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Gemmocystidae
''Rhytidocystis'' is a genus of apicomplexans. This genus is parasitic on scleractinian corals ('' Agaricia agaricites'', ''Dendrogyra cylindrus'', '' Diploria strigosa'', ''Meandrina meandrites'', '' Montastraea cavernosa'', ''Porites astreoides'', '' Porites porites'') and is found in the Caribbean. Very little is known about the species in this genus. ''G. cylindrus'' was isolated from within the gastrodermal cells of the mesenterial filaments of the coral. Only the oocysts and released sporozoite Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism is ...s have been described. The parasites were isolated from bleached coral but their role if any in this sign is not known. Taxonomy There is one species known in this genus References Apicomplexa genera {{Apicomplexa-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apicomplexa
The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. The organelle is an adaptation that the apicomplexan applies in penetration of a host cell. The Apicomplexa are unicellular and spore-forming. All species are obligate endoparasites of animals, except '' Nephromyces'', a symbiont in marine animals, originally classified as a chytrid fungus. Motile structures such as flagella or pseudopods are present only in certain gamete stages. The Apicomplexa are a diverse group that includes organisms such as the coccidia, gregarines, piroplasms, haemogregarines, and plasmodia. Diseases caused by Apicomplexa include: * Babesiosis (''Babesia'') * Malaria (''Plasmodium'') * Cryptosporidiosis (''Cryptosporidium parvum'') * Cyclosporiasis (''Cyclospora cayetanensis'') * Cystoisosporiasis (''Cystoisosp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agaricia Agaricites
''Agaricia agaricites'', commonly known as lettuce coral or tan lettuce-leaf coral, is a species of colonial stony corals in the family Agariciidae. This coral is found in shallow waters in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The IUCN has assessed its status as being oVuknerable. Description Colonies of ''A. agaricites'' have several different habits of growth, but usually occur in encrusting sheets with irregular projections or are leaf-like or plate-like. New colonies are usually encrusting, but vertical lobes and sheet-like projections begin to develop when the colonies are still quite small. The growth form seems to be partially linked to the movement of water in the vicinity and the depth. Horizontal plates normally have corallites on both sides while vertical forms have corallites on only one side. The corallites are arranged in long meandering rows, but a few are single, with sharp-pointed ridges between them. Each one has up to 36 septa and a centra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dendrogyra Cylindrus
Pillar coral (''Dendrogyra cylindrus'') is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Dendrogyra''. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fingers (Latin ''digites'') or a cluster of cigars, growing up from the sea floor without any secondary branching. It is large and can grow on both flat and sloping surfaces at depths down to 20 m (65 ft). It is one of the few types of hard coral in which the polyps can commonly be seen feeding during the day. Description Pillar coral forms an encrusted base from which grow vertical cylindrical, round-ended columns. This coral can grow to a height of with pillars more than wide but is usually much smaller than this. The corallites from which the polyps protrude are smaller than in diameter and arranged in shallow meandering valleys with low ridges in between. The skeleton of the coral is not usually visible because the pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diploria Strigosa
''Pseudodiploria strigosa'', the symmetrical brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows slowly and lives to a great age. Description The symmetrical brain coral forms smooth flat plates or massive hemispherical domes up to in diameter. The surface is covered with interlinking convoluted valleys in which the polyps sit in cup-shaped depressions known as corallites. Each of these has a number of radially arranged ridges known as septa which continue outside the corallite as costae and link with those of neighbouring corallites. The ridges separating the valleys are smoothly rounded and do not usually have a groove running along their apex as does the rather similar grooved brain coral (''Diploria labyrinthiformis''). The coral has symbiotic dinoflagellate alga called zooxanthella in its tissues and it is these which give the coral its colour of yellowish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meandrina Meandrites
''Meandrina meandrites'', commonly known as maze coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is found primarily on outer coral reef slopes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Description ''Meandrina meandrites'' forms massive hemispherical heads or develops into substantial flat plates and can grow to nearly in diameter. Some small colonies are cone-shaped and are not attached to the substrate. These resemble young colonies of rose coral ('' Manicina areolata'') and may be found in sandy or muddy areas some way from reefs. The corallites, the calcareous cups secreted by the polyps, are wide. The raised walls between the corallites are formed from fine but widely separated transverse ridges called septa and meander over the surface of the coral. There is a slight indentation running along the crest of the walls where the septa from adjoining corallites meet. The polyps are large but are only protruded at night when they cover and obscure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montastraea Cavernosa
''Montastraea'' is a genus of colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, ''Montastraea cavernosa'', known as great star coral. It forms into massive boulders and sometimes develops into plates. Its polyps are the size of a human thumb and fully extend at night. Description Great star coral colonies form massive boulders and domes over 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter in waters of shallow and moderate depths. In deeper waters, this coral has been observed growing as a plate formation. It is found throughout most reef environments, and is the predominant coral at depths of 40–100 feet (12.2-30.5 m). This coral occasionally has a fluorescent red or orange color during daytime; it has recently been suggested that this hue is due to phycoerythrin, a cyanobacterial protein. It appears that, in addition to symbiotic zooxanthella, this coral harbors endocellular symbiotic cyanobacteria, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porites Astreoides
''Porites astreoides'', commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is a common species in the Caribbean Sea and western tropical Atlantic Ocean in North, Central, and South America; and the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean in western Africa. Description When it grows in fast-flowing, shallow water, ''Porites astreoides'' is encrusting but in calmer water at medium depths it is a massive coral with a smooth, mounded, semi-spherical form and can grow to in diameter. At greater depths it is usually plate-like and in caves and under overhangs the plates are angled to receive the maximum amount of light. It is the only species within the genus ''Porites'' not to have a finger-like form. The corallites are small and tightly-packed and give the coral a porous appearance. The polyps each have six tentacles and are generally retracted during the day. This coral is yellow, yellowish-green, pale grey or pale br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porites Porites
''Porites porites'', commonly known as hump coral or finger coral, is a species of stony coral in the genus ''Porites''. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean and also along the coast of West Africa. Description ''Porites porites'' forms irregular patches of short, finger-like lobes with blunt, slightly swollen tips. Sometimes these are densely packed but in other locations they are widely spaced. The lobes are up to wide which distinguishes this species from other members of the genus that have narrower lobes. They may be curved or hooked and grow in all directions. The colour is usually white or pale blueish-grey. This species is known to be some of the oldest forms of life on earth due to the slow growth rate of the coral. The coral is formed from tiny polyps that attach together at the base of their skeletons and branch outward. Scientists believe that some Porites coral are up to 1,000 years old and can reach heights of eight meters and widths of up to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean) and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America. Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region has more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays (see the list of Caribbean islands). Island arcs delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea: The Greater Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago on the north and the Lesser Antilles and the on the south and east (which includes the Leeward Antilles). They form the West Indies with the nearby Lucayan Archipelago (the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands), which are considered to be part of the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oocyst
Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism is typified by a ''cellular variety'' with a distinct morphology and biochemistry. Not all apicomplexa develop all the following cellular varieties and division methods. This presentation is intended as an outline of a hypothetical generalised apicomplexan organism. Methods of asexual replication Apicomplexans (sporozoans) replicate via ways of multiple fission (also known as schizogony). These ways include , and , although the latter is sometimes referred to as schizogony, despite its general meaning. Merogony is an asexually reproductive process of apicomplexa. After infecting a host cell, a trophozoite ( see glossary below) increases in size while repeatedly replicating its nucleus and other organelles. During this process, the or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporozoite
Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism is typified by a ''cellular variety'' with a distinct morphology and biochemistry. Not all apicomplexa develop all the following cellular varieties and division methods. This presentation is intended as an outline of a hypothetical generalised apicomplexan organism. Methods of asexual replication Apicomplexans (sporozoans) replicate via ways of multiple fission (also known as schizogony). These ways include , and , although the latter is sometimes referred to as schizogony, despite its general meaning. Merogony is an asexually reproductive process of apicomplexa. After infecting a host cell, a trophozoite ( see glossary below) increases in size while repeatedly replicating its nucleus and other organelles. During this process, the org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
