| Prostomatea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coleps | |
Scientific classification  | |
| (unranked): | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | TSAR |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Infrakingdom: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Ciliophora |
| Subphylum: | Intramacronucleata |
| Class: | Prostomatea |
Prostomatea is a class of ciliates. [1] It includes the genera Coleps [2] and Pelagothrix .
The alveolates are a group of protists, considered a major clade and superphylum within Eukarya, and are also called Alveolata.
The plagiopylids are a small order of ciliates, including a few forms common in anaerobic habitats.
The Litostomatea are a class of ciliates. The group consists of three subclasses: Haptoria, Trichostomatia and Rhynchostomatia. Haptoria includes mostly carnivorous forms such as Didinium, a species of which preys primarily on the ciliate Paramecium. Trichostomatia (trichostomes) are mostly endosymbionts in the digestive tracts of vertebrates. These include the species Balantidium coli, which is the only ciliate parasitic in humans. The group Rhynchostomatia includes two free-living orders previously included among the Haptoria, but now known to be genetically distinct from them, the Dileptida and the Tracheliida.
The Colpodea are a class of ciliates, of about 200 species common in freshwater and soil habitats. The body cilia are typically uniform, and are supported by dikinetids of characteristic structure, with cilia on both kinetosomes. The mouth may be apical or ventral, with more or less prominent associated polykinetids. Many are asymmetrical, the cells twisting sideways and then untwisting again prior to division, which often takes place within cysts. Colpoda, a kidney-shaped ciliate common in organic rich conditions, is representative.
Holotricha is an order of ciliates. The classification has fallen from use as a formal taxon, but the terms "holotrich" and "holotrichous" are still applied descriptively to organisms with cilia of uniform length distributed evenly over the surface of the body.
The oligotrichs are a group of ciliates, included among the spirotrichs. They have prominent oral cilia, which are arranged as a collar and lapel, in contrast to the choreotrichs where they form a complete circle. The body cilia are reduced to a girdle and ventral cilia. In Halteria and its relatives, they form bristles or cirri; however these forms may be closer relatives of the stichotrichs than of other oligotrichs. These organisms are very common in plankton communities, especially in marine systems. Usually found in concentrations of about 1 per ml, they are the most important herbivores in the sea, the first link in the food chain.
Spirostomum is a genus of free-living ciliate protists, belonging to the class Heterotrichea. Species of Spirostomum are found in both salt and fresh water. All are elongated, flexible and highly contractile. Although unicellular, members of some species can grow as long as 4 mm (0.16 in).
Coleps is a genus of ciliates in the class Prostomatea with barrel-shaped bodies surrounded by regularly arranged plates composed of calcium carbonate.
Plagiopyla is a genus of ciliates. It includes nine species:
Colpoda is a genus of ciliates in the class Colpodea, order Colpodida, and family Colpodidae.
Karyorelictea is a class of ciliates in the subphylum Postciliodesmatophora. Most species are members of the microbenthos community, that is, microscopic organisms found in the marine interstitial habitat, though one genus, Loxodes, is found in freshwater.
The ciliates are a group of protozoans characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a different undulating pattern than flagella. Cilia occur in all members of the group and are variously used in swimming, crawling, attachment, feeding, and sensation.
Climacostomum is a genus of unicellular ciliates, belonging to the class Heterotrichea.
Dileptus is a genus of unicellular ciliates in the class Litostomatea. Species of Dileptus occur in fresh and salt water, as well as mosses and soils. Most are aggressive predators equipped with long, mobile proboscides lined with toxic extrusomes, with which they stun smaller organisms before consuming them. 13 species and subspecies of Dileptus are currently recognized.
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, attaching to their host organism by means of an aboral adhesive disk. Some mobilid species are pathogens of wild or farmed fish, causing severe and economically damaging diseases such as trichodinosis.
Colpidium colpoda are free-living ciliates commonly found in many freshwater environments including streams, rivers, lakes and ponds across the world. Colpidium colpoda is also frequently found inhabiting wastewater treatment plants. This species is used as an indicator of water quality and waste treatment plant performance.
Intramacronucleata is a subphylum of ciliates. The group is characterized by the manner in which division of the macronucleus is accomplished during binary fission of the cell. In ciliates of this subphylum, division of the macronucleus is achieved by the action of microtubules which are assembled inside the macronucleus itself. This is in contrast to heterotrich ciliates of the subphylum Postciliodesmatophora, in which division of the macronucleus relies on microtubules formed outside the macronuclear envelope.
Armophorea is a class of ciliates in the subphylum Intramacronucleata. . It was first resolved in 2004 and comprises three orders: Metopida, Clevelandellida, and Armophorida. Previously members of this class were thought to be heterotrichs because of similarities in morphology, most notably a characteristic dense arrangement of cilia surrounding their oral structures. However, the development of genetic tools and subsequent incorporation of DNA sequence information has led to major revisions in the evolutionary relationships of many protists, including ciliates. Metopids, clevelandellids, and armophorids were grouped into this class based on similarities in their small subunit rRNA sequences, making them one of two so-called "riboclasses" of ciliates, however, recent analyses suggest that Armophorida may not be related to the other two orders.
Protocruziea is a class of ciliates in the subphylum Intramacronucleata.
Parablepharismea is a class of free-living marine and brackish anaerobic ciliates that form a major clade of obligate anaerobes within the SAL group, together with the classes Muranotrichea and Armophorea.
Zhang, Qianqian; Yi, Zhenzhen; Fan, Xinpeng; Warren, Alan (January 2014). "Further insights into the phylogeny of two ciliate classes Nassophorea and Prostomatea (Protista, Ciliophora)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 70: 162–170. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.09.015. PMID 24075983.
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