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.
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.
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.
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.
Arcellinid testate amoebae or Arcellinida, Arcellacean or lobose testate amoebae are single-celled protists partially enclosed in a simple test (shell).
Amoeba is a genus of single-celled amoeboids in the family Amoebidae. The type species of the genus is Amoeba proteus, a common freshwater organism, widely studied in classrooms and laboratories.
Leptomyxida is an order of Amoebozoa.
Protosteliomycetes/Protosteliales (ICBN) or Protostelea/Protostelia/Protosteliida (ICZN) is a grouping of slime molds from the phylum Mycetozoa. The name can vary depending upon the taxon used. Other names include Protostelea, Protostelia, and Protostelida. When not implying a specific level of classification, the term protostelid or protosteloid amoeba is sometimes used.
Cochliopodium is a Himatismenida genus.
Comandonia is a genus of Amoebozoa.
Leptomyxa is a free-living genus of lobose naked multinucleate amoebae in the order Leptomyxida that inhabits freshwater, soil and mosses. It is very closely related to the genus Rhizamoeba, and some species have been moved between the two genera 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.
Psalteriomonas is a genus of excavates in the group of Heterolobosea. The genus was first discovered and named in 1990. It contains amoeboflagellate cells that live in freshwater anaerobic sediments all over the world. The microtubule-organizing ribbon and the associated microfibrillar bundles of the mastigote system is the predominant feature in Psalteriomonas. This harp-shaped complex gives rise to the name of this genus. Psalteriomonasforms an endosymbiotic relationship with methanogenic bacteria, especially with Methanobacterium formicicum There are currently three species in this genus: P. lanterna, P. vulgaris, and P. magna.
Multicilia is a flagellated genus of Amoebozoa.
Flabellula is a genus of Amoebozoa.
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.
