Amoebozoa is a major taxonomic group containing about 2,400 described species of amoeboid protists, often possessing blunt, fingerlike, lobose pseudopods and tubular mitochondrial cristae. In traditional and currently no longer supported classification schemes, Amoebozoa is ranked as a phylum within either the kingdom Protista or the kingdom Protozoa. In the classification favored by the International Society of Protistologists, it is retained as an unranked "supergroup" within Eukaryota. Molecular genetic analysis supports Amoebozoa as a monophyletic clade. Modern studies of eukaryotic phylogenetic trees identify it as the sister group to Opisthokonta, another major clade which contains both fungi and animals as well as several other clades comprising some 300 species of unicellular eukaryotes. Amoebozoa and Opisthokonta are sometimes grouped together in a high-level taxon, variously named Unikonta, Amorphea or Opimoda.
The Rhizaria are a diverse and species-rich supergroup of mostly unicellular eukaryotes. Except for the Chlorarachniophytes and three species in the genus Paulinella in the phylum Cercozoa, they are all non-photosynthethic, but many foraminifera and radiolaria have a symbiotic relationship with unicellular algae. A multicellular form, Guttulinopsis vulgaris, a cellular slime mold, has been described. This group was used by Cavalier-Smith in 2002, although the term "Rhizaria" had been long used for clades within the currently recognized taxon. Being described mainly from rDNA sequences, they vary considerably in form, having no clear morphological distinctive characters (synapomorphies), but for the most part they are amoeboids with filose, reticulose, or microtubule-supported pseudopods. In the absence of an apomorphy, the group is ill-defined, and its composition has been very fluid. Some Rhizaria possess mineral exoskeletons, which are in different clades within Rhizaria made out of opal, celestite, or calcite. Certain species can attain sizes of more than a centimeter with some species being able to form cylindrical colonies approximately 1 cm in diameter and greater than 1 m in length. They feed by capturing and engulfing prey with the extensions of their pseudopodia; forms that are symbiotic with unicellular algae contribute significantly to the total primary production of the ocean.
Lobosa is a taxonomic group of amoebae in the phylum Amoebozoa. Most lobosans possess broad, bluntly rounded pseudopods, although one genus in the group, the recently discovered Sapocribrum, has slender and threadlike (filose) pseudopodia. In current classification schemes, Lobosa is a subphylum, composed mainly of amoebae that have lobose pseudopods but lack cilia or flagella.
Amorphea is a taxonomic supergroup that includes the basal Amoebozoa and Obazoa. That latter contains the Opisthokonta, which includes the Fungi, Animals and the Choanomonada, or Choanoflagellates. The taxonomic affinities of the members of this clade were originally described and proposed by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002.
Chaos is a genus of single-celled amoeboid organisms in the family Amoebidae. The largest and best-known species, the so-called "giant amoeba" Chaos carolinensis, can reach lengths of 5 mm, although most specimens fall between 1 and 3 mm.
The Amoebidae are a family of Amoebozoa, including naked amoebae that produce multiple pseudopodia of indeterminate length. These are roughly cylindrical with granular endoplasm and no subpseudopodia, as found in other members of the class Tubulinea. During locomotion one pseudopod typically becomes dominant and the others are retracted as the body flows into it. In some cases the cell moves by "walking", with relatively permanent pseudopodia serving as limbs.
Difflugia is the largest genus of Arcellinida, one of several groups of Tubulinea within the eukaryote supergroup Amoebozoa. Arcellinida species produce shells or tests from mineral particles or biogeonic elements and are thus commonly referred to as testate amoebae or shelled amoebae. Difflugia are particularly common in marshes and other freshwater habitats.
The Tubulinea are a major grouping of Amoebozoa, including most of the more familiar amoebae genera like Amoeba, Arcella, Difflugia and Hartmannella.
Discosea is a class of Amoebozoa, consisting of naked amoebae with a flattened, discoid body shape. Members of the group do not produce tubular or subcylindrical pseudopodia, like amoebae of the class Tubulinea. When a discosean is in motion, a transparent layer called hyaloplasm forms at the leading edge of the cell. In some discoseans, short "subpseudopodia" may be extended from this hyaloplasm, but the granular contents of the cell do not flow into these, as in true pseudopodia. Discosean amoebae lack hard shells, but some, like Cochliopodium and Korotnevella secrete intricate organic scales which may cover the upper (dorsal) surface of the cell. No species have flagella or flagellated stages of life.
Gephyramoeba is a genus of heterotrophic amoebae, morphologically similar to genera Rhizamoeba and Leptomyxa, although it is not genetically related to either of these genera.
Phalansterium is a genus of single-celled flagellated organisms comprising several species, which form colonies. Phalansterium produces tetraspores.
Leptomyxida is an order of Amoebozoa.
Dactylopodida is an Amoebozoa grouping.
Cochliopodium is a Himatismenida genus.
Hartmannella is a genus of Amoebozoa.
Rhizamoeba is a small genus of free-living marine naked lobose amoebae in the monotypic family Rhizamoebidae in the order Leptomyxida. It is most closely related to Leptomyxa and Flabellula, and some species have been moved to Leptomyxa due to molecular data.
Polychaos is an amoeboid genus in the Amoebozoa group. Several characters unite the species in this genus. The pseudopods meld at their bases when the organism is moving, and have dorsal, longitudinal ridges. The nucleus is oval or ellipsoid.
An amoeba, often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods. Amoebae do not form a single taxonomic group; instead, they are found in every major lineage of eukaryotic organisms. Amoeboid cells occur not only among the protozoa, but also in fungi, algae, and animals.
The Flabellinia are a subclass of Amoebozoa. During locomotion the cells are flattened and have a clear layer called hyaloplasm along the front margin. Some form slender subpseudopodia projecting outward from the hyaloplasm, but the cell mass does not flow into these as in true pseudopodia, and advances without a definite central axis as in the Tubulinea. They also lack distinctive features like shells and flagella, and are united mainly by evidence from molecular trees.
Cryptodifflugiidae is a family of arcellinid testate amoebae.
