''Selenidioides'' are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

alveolates in the

phylum In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclatu ...

Apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. The ...

. Species in this genus infect marine invertebrates.

Taxonomy

The order Archigregarinorida was redefined by Levine in 1971.Levine N D (1971) Taxonomy of the Archigregarinorida and Selenidiidae (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) J Euk Micro 18 (4) 704-717 DOI: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1971.tb03401.x This reorganisation lead to the creation of two new families (

Exoschizonidae The Exoschizonidae are a family in the phylum Apicomplexa. History This family was created by Levine in 1971.Levine ND (1971) Taxonomy of the Archigregarinorida and Selenidiidae (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) J Euk Microbiol 18 (4) 704–717 Taxonom ...

and

Selenidioididae The ''Selenidioididae'' are a family of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Species in this order infect marine invertebrates. Taxonomy The order Archigregarinorida was redefined by Levine in 1971Levine N D (1971) Taxonomy of the ...

) and several genera including ''Selenidioides''. There are 11 species in this genus.

Life cycle

The parasites in the genus infect the gastrointestinal tract and are presumably transmitted by the orofaecal route but the details of this mechanism are presently unknown.

References

Apicomplexa genera {{Apicomplexa-stub