The Colpodea are a class of
ciliate
The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a differen ...
s, of about 200 species common in freshwater and soil habitats. The body cilia are typically uniform, and are supported by
dikinetids of characteristic structure, with cilia on both kinetosomes. The mouth may be apical or ventral, with more or less prominent associated polykinetids. Many are asymmetrical, the cells twisting sideways and then untwisting again prior to division, which often takes place within cysts. ''
Colpoda'', a kidney-shaped ciliate common in organic rich conditions, is representative.
Most ciliates placed here were originally considered advanced
trichostomes, on the assumption that they lacked true oral cilia. However the Bursariomorphida, large carnivorous ciliates whose oral cavity forms a deep anterior pocket, were considered
heterotrich
The heterotrichs are a class of ciliates. They typically have a prominent adoral zone of membranelles circling the mouth, used in locomotion and feeding, and shorter cilia on the rest of the body. Many species are highly contractile, and are t ...
s because of their prominent oral polykinetids. The modern class was first defined by
Small
Small may refer to:
Science and technology
* SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language
* Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back
* ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication
* <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
&
Lynn
Lynn may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Lynn (surname)
* The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn
* Lynn ( ...
in 1981, based mainly on the structure of the body kinetids.
References
Further reading
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*
External links
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Intramacronucleata
Ciliate classes
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