The Monocystidae are a family of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa.
Taxonomy
There are five subfamilies in this family: ''Monocystinae'', ''Oligochaetocystinae'', ''Rhynchocystinae'', ''Stomatophorinae'' and ''Zygocystinae''.
History
This family was created by Bütschli in 1882.
[Bütschli O, Schwager C (1882) Protozoa. Abt. 1, Sarkodina und Sporozoa. Leipzig: F. C. Wintersche Verlagshandlung]
Description
The hosts of the species in this family are usually
oligochaete
Oligochaeta () is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworm ...
s.
The species in this family generally infect the
coelom
The coelom (or celom) is the main body cavity in most animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium. In other animals, such as molluscs, it r ...
of their hosts.
The
gamonts are spherical to cylindrical. The anterior end is little differentiated if at all.
The
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 i ...
s are biconical or boat-shaped.
References
Apicomplexa families
{{Apicomplexa-stub