The
phylum Sarcomastigophora belongs to the
Protista
A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...
or
protoctista kingdom and it includes many unicellular or colonial, autotrophic, or heterotrophic organisms. It is characterized by flagellae, pseudopodia, or both.
Taxonomy
It is divided into three subphyla: the
Mastigophora
A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and th ...
, the
Sarcodina
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 ...
and the
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 ...
.
[ Species:Sarcomastigophora]
It is
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
, and it is not a universally recognized classification. It places great significance upon method of locomotion in generating the taxonomy.
It can be described either as:
:kingdom Protista → phylum Sarcomastigophora
or in older classifications as
: phylum
Protozoa → subphylum Sarcomastigophora.
Characteristics
It gets its name from the combination of "Sarcodina" (which is an older term used for
amoeboid
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 ...
s)
and "Mastigophora" (which is an older term for
flagellates).
The characteristics of phylum sarcomastigophora are :
(1) Nucleus is of one type except in the stages of certain foraminifera.
(2) Locomotory organ either pseudopodia or flagella or both.
(3) Reproduction asexual , but when sexually it is essentially by
syngamy
(4) Spore formation is absent.
Example : ''
Amoeba
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 pseudop ...
'', ''
Euglena
''Euglena'' is a genus of single cell flagellate eukaryotes. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the class Euglenoidea, a diverse group containing some 54 genera and at least 200 species. Species of ''Euglena'' are found in f ...
'' etc.
See also
*
Protozoa
*
Foraminifera
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...
*
Radiolaria
The Radiolaria, also called Radiozoa, are protozoa of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm. The el ...
*
Red Tide
A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are sometimes ...
*
Volvox
''Volvox'' is a polyphyletic genus of chlorophyte green algae in the family Volvocaceae. It forms spherical colonies of up to 50,000 cells. They live in a variety of freshwater habitats, and were first reported by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 170 ...
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2294279
Obsolete eukaryote taxa
Eukaryote phyla
Polyphyletic groups