Trichodinidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

s of the order

Mobilida Mobilida is a group of parasitic or symbiotic peritrich ciliates, comprising more than 280 species. Mobilids live on or within a wide variety of aquatic organisms, including fish, amphibians, molluscs, cnidarians, flatworms and other ciliates, att ...

, class

Oligohymenophorea The Oligohymenophorea are a large class of ciliates. There is typically a ventral groove containing the mouth and distinct oral cilia, separate from those of the body. These include a paroral membrane to the right of the mouth and membranelles, ...

. Members of the family are

ectoparasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

(or, alternatively, ectocommensals) of a wide variety of aquatic organisms, including fish, amphibians, hydrozoans, molluscs and crustaceans. Suggestion from an anonymous editor: Trichodina actually infect Hydra too, so someone needs to add that in, along with a citation.

Genera

The family consists of four

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. * '' Dipartiella'' Stein, 1961 * '' Paratrichodina'' Lom, 1963 * ''

Trichodina Trichodina is a genus of ciliate alveolates that is ectocommensal or parasitic on aquatic animals, particularly fish. They are characterised by the presence of a ring of interlocking cytoskeletal denticles, which provide support for the cell an ...

'' Ehrenberg, 1830 * '' Trichodinella'' Srámek-Husek, 1953

References

* Oligohymenophorea Parasitic alveolates Ciliate families {{ciliate-stub