''Leptomyxa'' is a free-living genus of lobose naked

multinucleate Multinucleate cells (also known as multinucleated or polynuclear cells) are eukaryotic cells that have more than one nucleus per cell, i.e., multiple nuclei share one common cytoplasm. Mitosis in multinucleate cells can occur either in a coordinat ...

amoebae An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopo ...

in the order

Leptomyxida Leptomyxida is an order of Amoebozoa. It includes species such as '' Flabellula citata'', '' Paraflabellula hoguae'', '' Paraflabellula reniformis'', '' Rhizamoeba saxonica'' and '' Leptomyxa reticulata''. Taxonomy The taxonomy of Leptomyxida ...

that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus ''

Rhizamoeba ''Rhizamoeba'' is a small genus of free-living marine naked lobose amoebae in the monotypic family Rhizamoebidae in the order Leptomyxida. It is most closely related to '' Leptomyxa'' and '' Flabellula'', and some species have been moved to '' ...

'', and some species have been moved between the two genera due to molecular data.

Description

Members of this genus have loboreticulopodia: wide and smooth cytoplasmic projections (like

lobopodia The lobopodians, members of the informal group Lobopodia (from the Greek language, Greek, meaning "blunt feet"), or the formally erected phylum Lobopoda Cavalier-Smith (1998), are panarthropods with stubby legs called lobopods, a term which may ...

) that can also connect to each other to form a net-like structure (like reticulopodia). They differ from ''

'' not only on a molecular level but also in their

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

: each ''Leptomyxa'' cell has usually up to hundreds of nuclei, while ''

'' cells contain between one and up to dozens of nuclei, and the organization of the cell is plasmodial among ''Leptomyxa'' while monopodial among ''

''.

Classification

As of 2017, nine species belong to this genus. * ''

Leptomyxa ambigua ''Leptomyxa'' is a free-living genus of lobose naked multinucleate amoebae in the order Leptomyxida that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus ''Rhizamoeba'', and some species have been moved between the t ...

'' * '' Leptomyxa arborea'' * ''

Leptomyxa australiensis ''Leptomyxa'' is a free-living genus of lobose naked multinucleate amoebae in the order Leptomyxida that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus ''Rhizamoeba'', and some species have been moved between the t ...

'' * '' Leptomyxa flabellata'' * '' Leptomyxa fragilis'' * ''

Leptomyxa neglecta ''Leptomyxa'' is a free-living genus of lobose naked multinucleate amoebae in the order Leptomyxida that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus ''Rhizamoeba'', and some species have been moved between the t ...

'' * '' Leptomyxa reticulata'' (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

) * '' Leptomyxa valladaresi'' * ''

Leptomyxa variabilis ''Leptomyxa'' is a free-living genus of lobose naked multinucleate amoebae in the order Leptomyxida that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus ''Rhizamoeba'', and some species have been moved between the t ...

References

Amoebozoa genera Tubulinea Taxa described in 1915 {{Amoebozoa-stub