Massisteria

Massisteria marina is a heterotrophic flagellate from the group of Cercozoa. He is the only species of the genus and family Massisteria Massisteriidae, and belongs to the tribe Cercozoa. It is widespread in seas and feeds on bacteria.

Features

The cells are flattened and bear two short, non-active flagella, the rest in the amoeboid stage on the cell surface. The cells form very thin, branched pseudopodia that contain small Extrusomen and microtubules.

They have a rather complex cell cycle, amoebae, active floating biflagellate cells and plasmodia includes. Cysts are not known.

System

Massisteria was made earlier to the Cercomonadida. Molecular Genetics research, they, however, definitely does not belong in this group. Various studies put them in different groups of Cercozoa, each with low statistical support. Adl et al. therefore placed them incertae sedis in the Cercozoa. Bass et al. they have made ​​as a separate family Massisteriidae in the class Granofilosea 2008.

Documents

• Alexander P. Mylnikov, Serguei A. Karpov: Review of diversity and taxonomy of cercomonads. Protistology, Volume 3, 2004, pp. 201-217. ISSN 1680-0826