Overview
Photos
Taxonomy
The Class Ciliatea is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Subclass (1): Trichostomatia
- Order (6): Cyrtophorida · Heterotrichida · Hypotrichida · Oligotrichida · Peritrichida · Trichostomatida
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 498 species and subspecies in the Class Ciliatea.
Orders
Cyrtophorida
Heterotrichida
Hypotrichida
The hypotrichs are a group of protozoa, included among the spirotrichs. Most are oval in shape, with a rigid pellicle, and have cirri distributed in isolated tufts on the ventral surface of the cell. Some also have dorsal cilia, which function as sensory bristles. Euplotes and Aspidisca are common genera. Like other ciliates, hypotrichs reproduce by cell division and conjugation. [more]
Oligotrichida
The oligotrichs are a group of protozoa, included among the spirotrichs. They have prominent oral cilia, which are arranged as a collar and lapel, in contrast to the choreotrichs where they form a complete circle. The body cilia are reduced to a girdle and ventral cilia. In Halteria and its relatives, they form bristles or cirri; however these forms may be closer relatives of the stichotrichs than of other oligotrichs. These organisms are very common in plankton communities, especially in marine systems. Usually found in concentrations of about 1 per ml, they are the most important herbivores in the sea, the first link in the food chain. [more]
Peritrichida
Trichostomatida
At least 7 species and subspecies belong to the Order Trichostomatida.
More info about the Order Trichostomatida may be found here.
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