Sarcomastigophora
Encyclopedia
The phylum
Sarcomastigophora belongs to the Protist
kingdom and it includes many unicellular or colonial, autotrophic, or heterotrophic organisms. The two main subphyla are Mastigophora and Sarcodina. A third is Opalinata.
It is polyphyletic, and it is not a universally recognized classification. It places great significance upon method of locomotion in generating the taxonomy.
It can be described as kingdom Protista → phylum Sarcomastigophora → subphylum Mastigophora, or as phylum Protozoa
→ subphylum Sarcomastigophora → class Mastigophora.
It gets its name from the combination of "Sarcodina" (which is an older term used for amoeboid
s) and "Mastigophora" (which is an older term for flagellate
s).
Phylum
In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....
Sarcomastigophora belongs to the Protist
Protist
Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...
kingdom and it includes many unicellular or colonial, autotrophic, or heterotrophic organisms. The two main subphyla are Mastigophora and Sarcodina. A third is Opalinata.
It is polyphyletic, and it is not a universally recognized classification. It places great significance upon method of locomotion in generating the taxonomy.
It can be described as kingdom Protista → phylum Sarcomastigophora → subphylum Mastigophora, or as phylum Protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
→ subphylum Sarcomastigophora → class Mastigophora.
It gets its name from the combination of "Sarcodina" (which is an older term used for amoeboid
Amoeboid
Amoeboids are single-celled life-forms characterized by an irregular shape."Amoeboid" and "amœba" are often used interchangeably even by biologists, and especially refer to a creature moving by using pseudopodia. Most references to "amoebas" or "amoebae" are to amoeboids in general rather than to...
s) and "Mastigophora" (which is an older term for flagellate
Flagellate
Flagellates are organisms with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella. Some cells in animals may be flagellate, for instance the spermatozoa of most phyla. Flowering plants do not produce flagellate cells, but ferns, mosses, green algae, some gymnosperms and other closely related plants...
s).