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The tree of living organisms, showing the origin of eukaryotes and the position of protists, from which all other eukaryotes evolved.. Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotes (organisms whose cells possess a nucleus) that are primarily single-celled and microscopic but exhibit a wide variety of shapes and life strategies.
Protistology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of protists, a highly diverse group of eukaryotic organisms. All eukaryotes apart from animals, plants and fungi are considered protists. [1]
By 1954, Protozoa were classified as "unicellular animals", as distinct from the "Protophyta", single-celled photosynthetic algae, which were considered primitive plants. [25] In the system of classification published in 1964 by B.M. Honigsberg and colleagues, the phylum Protozoa was divided according to the means of locomotion, such as by ...
A protist (/ ˈ p r oʊ t ɪ s t /) is any eukaryotic organism (one with cells containing a nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus.The protists do not form a natural group, or clade, since they exclude certain eukaryotes with whom they share a common ancestor; [a] but, like algae or invertebrates, the grouping is used for convenience.
The third domain, Eukaryota, includes all multicellular organisms as well as many unicellular protists and protozoans that are microbes. Some protists are related to animals and some to green plants. Many multicellular organisms are also microscopic, namely micro-animals, some fungi, and some algae, but these are generally not considered ...
Thus, ciliates can be an important link between small cells and higher trophic levels. [108] Besides their significant role in carbon transfer, ciliates are also considered high quality food, as a source of proteinaceous compounds with a low C:N ratio in comparison to phytoplankton.
The Dinoflagellates (from Ancient Greek δῖνος (dînos) ' whirling ' and Latin flagellum ' whip, scourge '), also called Dinophytes, are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata [5] and are usually considered protists.
It contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic protists, and includes some important parasites of humans such as Giardia and Trichomonas. [5] Excavates were formerly considered to be included in the now obsolete Protista kingdom. [6]