''Entosiphon'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of euglenids. It was described by Friedrich Stein in 1878.

Description

''Entosiphon'' is a genus of

phagotroph Phagocytosis () is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis. A cell that performs phagocytosis i ...

ic euglenids, single-celled flagellates with two

flagella A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

characterized by a protein pellicle present beneath the

cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extr ...

. In particular, ''Entosiphon'' cells are distinguished by a protrusible ingestion apparatus. Their pellicle is composed of twelve protein strips.

Classification

The genus ''Entosiphon'' was described by Friedrich Stein in 1878. It was established to transfer a species of '' Anisonema'', ''A. sulcata'', to a separate genus, which changed the original spelling of this species to ''E. sulcatum''. A second species, ''E. oblongum'', was described in 2016. The genus was placed in a separate family Entosiphonidae the same year. The evolutionary position of ''Entosiphon'' among euglenids is unstable, either branching with '' Hemiolia'' and '' Liburna'' or forming a separate branch, depending on the methods and datasets used. In all cases, it consistently branches among basal, non-flexible euglenids, outside of any major euglenid group.

References

External links

{{Discoba Euglenozoa genera Taxa described in 1878 Taxa named by Samuel Friedrich Stein