''Nebela'' is a diverse genus of

testate amoebae Testate amoebae (formerly thecamoebians, Testacea or Thecamoeba) are a polyphyletic group of unicellular amoeboid protists, which differ from naked amoebae in the presence of a test (biology), test that partially encloses the cell, with an apert ...

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

, belonging to the family

Hyalospheniidae Hyalospheniidae is a family of arcellinid testate amoebae and the sole family of the infraorder Hyalospheniformes. Commonly referred to as "hyalospheniids", these lobose amoebae are characterized by their ability to generate a shell composed of ...

. They are "prey agglutinated" or "kleptosquamic" organisms, meaning they take the inorganic plates from their prey to construct their

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

Morphology

Members of this genus have a thin, transparent, pseudochitinous, flattened

that can be ovate, pyriform or elongate, with a length of around 180

micron The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...

s. The surface of the test has numerous oval or circular scales of variable size, or in rare occasions rectangular or rod-like scales. The

protoplasm Protoplasm (; ) is the part of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, monosaccharides, amino acids, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. In some definitions ...

is granular and colorless but can contain food

vacuole A vacuole () is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in Plant cell, plant and Fungus, fungal Cell (biology), cells and some protist, animal, and bacterial cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with water ...

s that show color. They have a single

nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

and a variable number of

pseudopodia A pseudopod or pseudopodium (: pseudopods or pseudopodia) is a temporary arm-like projection of a eukaryotic cell membrane that is emerged in the direction of movement. Filled with cytoplasm, pseudopodia primarily consist of actin filaments and ...

that are blunt in shape. The cell body is attached to the test's interior by strands of ectoplasm.

Classification

''Nebela'' originally belonged to the family Nebelidae, but phylogenetic analyses showed that the genus was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

and the genera '' Hyalosphenia'' and '' Quadrulella'', which belong to

, branch within ''Nebela''. Accordingly, the family Nebelidae was synonymised with

Species

There are at least 13 remaining species in the genus: *'' Nebela acolla'' *'' Nebela aliciae'' *'' Nebela barbata'' *'' Nebela carinatella'' *'' Nebela collaris'' (=''

Difflugia ''Difflugia'' is the largest genus of Arcellinida, one of several groups of Tubulinea within the eukaryote supergroup Amoebozoa. Arcellinida species produce shells or tests from mineral particles or biogenic elements (e.g. diatom frustules) a ...

collaris'' ; =''D. cancellata'' ; =''D. reticulata'' ; =''D. carpio'' ; =''D. laxa'' ; =''D. cellulifera'' ; =''N. numata'' ; =''N. bohemica'' ; =''N. sphagnophila'' ; =''N. tincta'' var. ''major'' ; =''N. tincta'' f. ''stenostoma'' ) *'' Nebela cylindrica'' *'' Nebela equicalceus'' *'' Nebela flabellulum'' *'' Nebela guttata'' *'' Nebela pechorensis'' *'' Nebela rotunda'' *'' Nebela tenella'' *'' Nebela tincta'' (='' Hyalosphenia tincta'' ; =''N. bursella'' ; =''N. parvula'' ; =''N. minor'' )

Former species

The

paraphyly Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

of ''Nebela'' is slowly being resolved by transferring species from ''Nebela'' to other genera through phylogenetic analyses. The following species were previously considered ''Nebela'' but have been moved accordingly: *'' Alabasta'' **'' Alabasta kivuense'' (=''N. kivuense'' ) **'' Alabasta longicollis'' (=''N. longicollis'' ) **'' Alabasta militaris'' (=''N. militaris'' ; =''N. bursella'' ; =''N. americana'' var. ''bryophila'' ) *'' Cornutheca'' **'' Cornutheca ansata'' (=''N. ansata'' ) **'' Cornutheca saccifera'' (=''N. saccifera'' ) **'' Cornutheca hippocrepis'' (=''N. hippocrepis'') **'' Cornutheca jiuhuensis'' (=''N. jiuhuensis'' ) *'' Gibbocarina'' **'' Gibbocarina galeata'' (=''N. galeata'' ) **'' Gibbocarina gracilis'' (=''N. gracilis'' ) *'' Longinebela'' **'' Longinebela golemanskyi'' (=''N. golemanskyi'' ) **'' Longinebela meisterfeldi'' (=''N. meisterfeldi'' ) **'' Longinebela penardiana'' (=''N. penardiana'' ) **'' Longinebela speciosa'' (=''N. speciosa'' ) **'' Longinebela tubulosa'' (=''N. tubulosa'' ) *''

Netzelia Arcellinid testate amoebae or Arcellinida,http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun03/gsamoebae.html Testate amoebae, peat bogs and past climates. accessed 16 march 2007 Arcellacean or lobose testate amoebae are single-celled protists partially ...

'' **'' Netzelia tuberculata'' (=''N. tuberculata'' ) *''

Padaungiella ''Padaungiella'' is a genus of testate amoebae belonging to the family Hyalospheniidae. It contains species previously found under the genus ''Nebela'', distinguished by the long neck of their shells and the lack of a constriction on the base of t ...

'' **'' Padaungiella lageniformis'' (=''N. lageniformis'' ) **'' Padaungiella wailesi'' (=''N. wailesi'' ) **'' Padaungiella wetekampi'' (=''N. wetekampi'' ) **'' Padaungiella tubulata'' (=''N. tubulata'' ) **'' Padaungiella nebeloides'' (=''N. nebeloides '' ) *'' Planocarina'' **'' Planocarina carinata'' (=''N. carinata'' ) **'' Planocarina marginata'' (=''N. marginata'' ) **'' Planocarina maxima'' (=''N. maxima'' ) **'' Planocarina spumosa'' (=''N. spumosa'' ) *'' Physochila'' **'' Physochila griseola'' (=''N. griseola'' )

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11790411 Amoebozoa genera Tubulinea Taxa described in 1874