Opalomonadea is a class of biciliate

phagotrophic Phagocytosis () is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis. A cell that performs phagocytosis is c ...

opalozoans with an anterior hairy

cilium The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projecti ...

, often from

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: * Anaerobic adhesive, a bonding a ...

habitats. It is a monophyletic group previously known as clade MAST-12, sister to

Opalinata Opalinata is a superclass of non- phagotrophic heterokonts that unites the classes Opalinea and Blastocystea, and is the sister group to Opalomonadea. Description When Opalinata was first erected as a taxon in 1926, it was placed as the sole c ...

. This group was discovered through marine environmental DNA samples; no species have yet been described or cultured.

Phylogeny

The cladogram below shows the relationships between Opalomonadea and the rest of Opalozoans.

References

{{reflist Placidozoa