The Acantharea (Acantharia) are a group of radiolarian protozoa, distinguished mainly by their strontium sulfate skeletons. Acantharians are heterotrophic marine microplankton that range in size from about 200 microns in diameter up to several millimeters. Some acantharians have photosynthetic endosymbionts and hence are considered mixotrophs.
The gymnosphaerids are a small group of heliozoan protists found in marine environments. They tend to be roughly spherical with radially directed axopods, supported by microtubules in a triangular-hexagonal array arising from an amorphous central granule.
The centrohelids or centroheliozoa are a large group of heliozoan protists. They include both mobile and sessile forms, found in freshwater and marine environments, especially at some depth.
The Radiolaria, also called Radiozoa, are protozoa of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm. The elaborate mineral skeleton is usually made of silica. They are found as zooplankton throughout the global ocean. As zooplankton, radiolarians are primarily heterotrophic, but many have photosynthetic endosymbionts and are, therefore, considered mixotrophs. The skeletal remains of some types of radiolarians make up a large part of the cover of the ocean floor as siliceous ooze. Due to their rapid change as species and intricate skeletons, radiolarians represent an important diagnostic fossil found from the Cambrian onwards.
The Noctilucales are an order of marine dinoflagellates. They differ from most others in that the mature cell is diploid and its nucleus does not show a dinokaryotic organization. They show gametic meiosis.
Heliozoa, commonly known as sun-animalcules, are microbial eukaryotes (protists) with stiff arms (axopodia) radiating from their spherical bodies, which are responsible for their common name. The axopodia are microtubule-supported projections from the amoeboid cell body, and are variously used for capturing food, sensation, movement, and attachment. They are similar to Radiolaria, but they are distinguished from them by lacking central capsules and other complex skeletal elements, although some produce simple scales and spines. They may be found in both freshwater and marine environments.
Cercozoa is a phylum of diverse single-celled eukaryotes. They lack shared morphological characteristics at the microscopic level, and are instead united by molecular phylogenies of rRNA and actin or polyubiquitin. They were the first major eukaryotic group to be recognized mainly through molecular phylogenies. They are the natural predators of many species of bacteria. They are closely related to the phylum Retaria, comprising amoeboids that usually have complex shells, and together form a supergroup called Rhizaria.
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.
Retaria is a clade within the supergroup Rhizaria containing the Foraminifera and the Radiolaria. In 2019, the Retaria were recognized as a basal Rhizaria group, as sister of the Cercozoa.
Endomyxa is a group of eukaryotic organisms in the supergroup Rhizaria. They were initially a subphylum of Cercozoa and later a subphylum of Retaria, but several analyses have proven they are a phylogenetically separate lineage, and Endomyxa is currently regarded as its own phylum.
Imbricatea is a class of Rhizaria characterised by silica scales. It is sometimes described as "Imbricatea/Silicofilosea", due to the similarity of those two groupings. Imbricatea is divided into the orders Euglyphida and Thaumatomonadida.
Thecofilosea is a class of unicellular testate amoebae belonging to the phylum Cercozoa. They are amoeboflagellates, organisms with flagella and pseudopodia, distinguished from other cercozoa by their scale-lacking test composed of organic material. They are closely related to the Imbricatea, a group of testate amoebae with tests composed of inorganic silica scales.
The sarcomonads or class Sarcomonadea are a group of amoeboid biciliate protists in the phylum Cercozoa. They are characterized by a propensity to move through gliding on their posterior cilium or through filopodia, a lack of scales or external theca, a soft cell surface without obvious cortical filamentous or membranous skeleton, two cilia without scales or hairs, tubular mitochondrial cristae, near-spherical extrusomes, and a microbody attached to the nucleus.
The vampyrellids, colloquially known as vampire amoebae, are a group of free-living predatory amoebae classified as part of the lineage Endomyxa. They are distinguished from other groups of amoebae by their irregular cell shape with propensity to fuse and split like plasmodial organisms, and their life cycle with a digestive cyst stage that digests the gathered food. They appear worldwide in marine, brackish, freshwater and soil habitats. They are important predators of an enormous variety of microscopic organisms, from algae to fungi and animals. They are also known as aconchulinid amoebae.
Nassellaria is an order of Rhizaria belonging to the class Radiolaria. The organisms of this order are characterized by a skeleton cross link with a cone or ring.
Phaeocystida, also known as Phaeocystina, is a group of cercozoans in the class Phaeodarea. It was first described by Ernst Haeckel in 1887 and treated traditionally as a suborder, but later was raised to order level until Cavalier-Smith's classification lowered it again to suborder level. It belongs to the order Eodarida, characterised by simpler silica skeletons or a lack thereof.
Collodaria is a unicellular order under the phylum Radiozoa and the infrakingdom Rhizaria. Like most of the Radiolaria taxonomy, Collodaria was first described by Ernst Haeckel, a German scholar who published three volumes of manuscript describing the extensive samples of Radiolaria collected by the voyage of HMS Challenger. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies concluded that there are Collodaria contains three families, Sphaerozodae, Collosphaeridae, and Collophidilidae.
The plasmodiophores are a group of obligate endoparasitic protists belonging to the subphylum Endomyxa in Cercozoa. Taxonomically, they are united under a single family Plasmodiophoridae, order Plasmodiophorida, sister to the phagomyxids.
The paracercomonads are a group of cercozoan protists. Taxonomically, they comprise the family Paracercomonadidae, order Paracercomonadida and subclass Paracercomonada. Due to their morphological similarities to the cercomonads, members of this family were grouped with Cercomonas and similar taxa from the beginning. However, their similarities are due to convergent evolution.
Astracantha is a genus of planktonic phaeodaria and the only member of the family Astracanthidae. They are an unusual family of marine protists, but can be found across all oceans, from tropical to Arctic and Antarctic waters.
