| Solenicola | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Bigyra |
| Class: | Nanomonadea |
| Order: | Uniciliatida |
| Family: | Solenicolidae Cavalier-Smith, 2013 |
| Genus: | Solenicola J. Pavillard, 1916 |
| Species: | S. setigera |
| Binomial name | |
| Solenicola setigera J. Pavillard, 1916 | |
Solenicola setigera is a species of marine stramenopile, and the only species classified within the genus Solenicola. [1]
The species ranges between 4–7 μm in diameter and has a complex feeding strategy. Its ecological role within the marine planktonic food chain is generally as a grazer, feeding on photoautotrophic diatoms. It is a parasite of the species Leptocylindrus mediterraneus . S. setigera will grow on the frustule, the protective shell made of silica, of L. mediterraneus alongside the cyanobacteria Synechococcus , which it may also eat. S. setigera combines herbivorous grazing, parasitism, and predation into its survival strategy. [2]
In 2013, the genus was placed in the family Solenicolidae. [3]
