Actinophryid

Actinophryid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Diaphoretickes
Clade: SAR
Clade: Stramenopiles
Phylum: Gyrista
Subphylum: Ochrophytina
Class: Raphidomonadea
Subclass: Raphopoda
Order: Actinophryida
Hartmann 1913
Suborders & families[1]
Diversity
9 species

The actinophryids are an order of heliozoa, a polyphyletic array of stramenopiles, having a close relationship with pedinellids and Ciliophrys. They are common in fresh water and occasionally found in marine and soil habitats. Actinophryids are unicellular and roughly spherical in shape, with many axopodia that radiate outward from the cell body. Axopodia are a type of pseudopodia that are supported by hundreds of microtubules arranged in interlocking spirals and forming a needle-like internal structure or axoneme. Small granules, extrusomes, that lie under the membrane of the body and axopodia capture flagellates, ciliates and small metazoa that make contact with the arms.[2][3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CavSmith2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Suzaki, T.; Shigenaka, Y.; Watanabe, S.; Toyohara, A. (1980). "Food capture and ingestion in the large heliozoan, Echinosphaerium nucleofilum". Journal of Cell Science. 42: 61–79. doi:10.1242/jcs.42.1.61. ISSN 0021-9533. PMID 7400244.
  3. ^ Ando, Motonori; Shigenaka, Yoshinobu (1989). "Structure and function of the cytoskeleton in heliozoa: I. Mechanism of rapid axopodial contraction in Echinosphaerium". Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton. 14 (2): 288–301. doi:10.1002/cm.970140214.