''Rhytidocystis'' is a genus of
apicomplexa
The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. Th ...
ns.
This genus is parasitic on scleractinian corals (''
Agaricia agaricites'', ''
Dendrogyra cylindrus
Pillar coral (''Dendrogyra cylindrus'') is a hard coral (order Scleractinia) found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Dendrogyra''. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fi ...
'', ''
Diploria strigosa'', ''
Meandrina meandrites
''Meandrina meandrites'', commonly known as maze coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is found primarily on outer coral reef slopes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Description
''Meandrina meandr ...
'', ''
Montastraea cavernosa'', ''
Porites astreoides
''Porites astreoides'', commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
It is a common species in the Caribbean Sea and western tropical Atlantic Ocean in North, Central, an ...
'', ''
Porites porites'') and is found in the
Caribbean. Very little is known about the species in this genus.
''G. cylindrus'' was isolated from within the gastrodermal cells of the mesenterial filaments of the coral. Only the
oocysts and released
sporozoite
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 is ...
s have been described. The parasites were isolated from bleached coral but their role if any in this sign is not known.
Taxonomy
There is one species known in this genus
References
Apicomplexa genera
{{Apicomplexa-stub