Txikispora

Txikispora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Filozoa
Class: Filasterea
Family: Txikisporidae
Genus: Txikispora
Species:
T. philomaios
Binomial name
Txikispora philomaios
Urrutia, Feist & Bass

Txikispora is a genus of parasitic protists made up solely of the species Txikispora philomaios. It is the only genus in the family Txikisporidae, which is a member of the class Filasterea and is closely related to Ministeriidae. The lineage was first described in 2022 based on specimens identified from the United Kingdom. The species represents a previously undiscovered type of life that diverged extremely early from animals and fungi.[1] It parasitizes amphipods in the genera Echinogammarus and Orchestia and most frequently infects their hemolymph and hemocytes.

  1. ^ "Txikispora philomaios, a parasite that will help to explain the origin of animal multicellularity". ScienceDaily. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2024.