Microworld

world of amoeboid organisms

Variosea  Cavalier-Smith et al. 2004

Amoebae elongated or flabellate during locomotion and sometimes branched to reticulate, with long, pointed, often branching and occasionally anastomosing subpseudopodia; ciliated cells may be the sole state, or present as ciliated q, or be one state in a life cycle that also includes obligate amoebae; the kinetid of ciliates bikont or unikont, associated at least with one cone of microtubules; several taxa contain a sporocarp state. The least inclusive clade containing Flamella balnearia, Protostelium nocturnum, Acramoeba dendroida and Phalansterium solitaruium.

Flamellidae  Cavalier-Smith 2016
Flattened amoebae capable of forming fan-shaped or semicircular locomotive form with numerous fine, tapering hyaline subpseudopodia, directed anteriorly; ciliated stages unknown. The least inclusive clade containing Flamella aegyptia and Telaepolella tubasferens.
Flamella, Telaepolella.

Filamoeba  Page 1967
Flattened amoebae, fan-shaped, triangular or crescent-shaped in locomotion, with numerous spine-like hyaline subpseudopodia, directed anteriorly; ciliated stages unknown. The least inclusive clade containing Filamoeba nolandi and F. sinensis.
Filamoeba.

Heliamoeba  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Binucleate amoebae with filose-like pseudopodia; with clearly distinct cell body always present, the pronounced pseudopodia making up most of the total cell dimension; cell body rarely branching; never reticulate; pseudopodia often branching and present mostly in the anterior and posterior parts of fully extended cells, or all around the cell body in more condensed forms; cell movement slow; ciliated stages unknown.
Heliamoeba mirabilis.

Acramoebidae  Smirnov, Nassonova & Cavalier-Smith 2008
Uninucleate amoebae, flattened highly branched, with very slender, pointed, sometimes branched hyaline subpseudopodia never forming a network; ciliated stages unknown.
Acramoeba dendroida.

Angulamoeba  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Uninucleate, branching amoebae with slender, pointed and/or filose-like, sometimes branched pseudopodia; trophozoites moving slowly; main cell body elongated, consisting of several main branches often with smaller lateral branches, never forming a network; numerous fine pseudopodia concentrated mostly at the extremities of the lateral and terminal branches, but can be formed anywhere around the cell body; multiple contractile vacuoles; some species with ciliated amoebae stages. The least inclusive clade containing Angulamoeba microcystivorans and A. fungorum.
Angulamoeba
.

Ischnamoeba  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Uninucleate, branching naked amoebae, cells usually thin, extended and flat, showing no well-defined cell body, except often a slight broadening in the area containing the nucleus; never reticulate, with whole cells often bent, but not extensively branched; branching more pronounced in condensed cells or in condensed parts of individual cells; very thin pseudopodia produced almost exclusively at distal parts of cells and more pronounced in condensed organisms, often branching; movement too slow to be directly observable; ciliated stages unknown. The least inclusive clade containing Ischnamoeba montana and Ischnamoeba sp. isolate F4 (Genbank: KP864094).
Ischnamoeba.

Darbyshirella  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Multinucleate, highly branching and reticulate amoebae with slender, pointed, sometimes branched and anastomosing pseudopodia; the whole cell body is strongly branching and narrow, especially in the most extended parts, while more condensed parts are wider; posterior end usually pointed with no or few pseudopodia and no branching; many contractile vacuoles present; movement very slow; ciliated stages unknown. The least inclusive clade containing Darbyshirella terrestris and Darbyshirella sp. (Genbank KP864088).
Darbyshirella.

Holomastigida  Lauterborn 1895
Rounded cells with multiple radiating projections, which may be cilia arising from the solitary kinetosomes. Artodiscus, Multicilia.

Dictyamoeba  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Multinucleate, highly branching and reticulate naked amoebae with slender, pointed, sometimes branched pseudopodia; movement of entire cells very slow; the main cell body is multiply branched and anastomosing, and can grow into giant networks (up to several mm) with intersecting segments of varying width and numerous terminal branching areas; abundant fine pseudopodia are concentrated mostly at the extremity of lateral and terminal branches, especially in complex networks, but can be formed anywhere around the cell body in simpler forms; ciliated stages unknown.
Dictyamoeba vorax.

Arboramoeba  Berney, Bass & Geisen 2015
Multinucleate, highly branching and reticulate amoebae; cell body indistinct; nuclei and other cytoplasmic contents are distributed across the whole network, with network significantly more complex at the anterior front, forming a wide, very densely reticulate, non-permeable front where phagocytosis occurs; posterior part of the cells is much less reticulate and branching; branching, filose-like, pseudopodia are mostly present at the anterior front of the cell; very strong vacuolar activity across the whole network; movement very slow; ciliated stages unknown.
Arboramoeba reticulata.

Phalansterium  Cienkowski 1870
Uniciliate sedentary cells, colonial or solitary; cilium arises from the apical part of the cell; one centriole per kinetid; ciliary pocket usually surrounded by a collar; some species form short tapering cytoplasmic projections and move over the substratum using the conformation of their body or producing cytoplasmic eruptions. The least inclusive clade containing Phalansterium solitarium and filosum.
Phalansterium.

Ferry Siemensma, created March 2, 2019; last modified September 30, 2023
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