Spironematellidae (previously known as Spironemidae) is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and the ...

s, in the group

Hemimastigophora Hemimastigophora is a group of unicellular, single-celled eukaryotic organisms including the Spironematellidae, first identified in 1988, and the Paramastigidae. Over the next 30 years, different authors proposed placing these organisms in v ...

. They vary in size and shape from the

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

'' Hemimastix amphikineta'' (14 × 7 μm) to the

vermiform Vermes (" vermin/vermes") is an obsolete taxon used by Carl Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for non-arthropod invertebrate animals. Linnaeus In Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'', the Vermes had the rank of class, occupying the 6th (and last) ...

'' Spironematella terricola'' (43 × 3 μm), and are united by the possession of two rows of

cilia The cilium (: cilia; ; in Medieval Latin and in anatomy, ''cilium'') is a short hair-like membrane protrusion from many types of eukaryotic cell. (Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea.) The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike proj ...

, called kineties.

Phylogenomic Phylogenomics is the intersection of the fields of evolution and genomics. The term has been used in multiple ways to refer to analysis that involves genome data and evolutionary reconstructions. It is a group of techniques within the larger fields ...

analysis shows that Hemimastigophora are a distinct and ancient lineage of

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

organisms, forming a possible sister

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

to the supergroup

Diaphoretickes Diaphoretickes is a major group of eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms spanning over 400,000 species. The majority of the earth's biomass that carries out photosynthesis belongs to Diaphoretickes. In older classification systems, members of the Diaph ...

Classification

The classification of Spironematellidae, as of 2022: Spironematella multiciliata

* ''

Hemimastix Spironematellidae (previously known as Spironemidae) is a family (biology), family of heterotrophic flagellates, in the group Hemimastigophora. They vary in size and shape from the ellipsoid ''Hemimastix amphikineta'' (14 × 7 μm) to the ve ...

'' Foissner, Blatterer & Foissner, 1988 ** ''H. amphikineta'' Foissner, Blatterer & Foissner, 1988 ** ''H. kukwesjijk'' Eglit &

Simpson Simpson may refer to: * Simpson (name), a British surname Organizations Schools *Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa *Simpson University, in Redding, California Businesses *Simpson (appliance manufacturer), former manufacturer and brand of w ...

, 2018 * ''

Stereonema Spironematellidae (previously known as Spironemidae) is a family of heterotrophic flagellates, in the group Hemimastigophora. They vary in size and shape from the ellipsoid '' Hemimastix amphikineta'' (14 × 7 μm) to the vermiform '' Spiron ...

'' Foissner & Foissner 1993 non Kützing 1836 ** ''S. geiseri'' Foissner & Foissner 1993 * '' Spironematella'' (=''Spironema''

Klebs Klebs is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arnold Klebs (1870–1943), Swiss microbiologist and physician; son of Edwin Klebs *Edwin Klebs (1834–1913), German-born Swiss pathologist and army medic; father of Arnold Kleb ...

1893 non Vuillemin 1905 non Léger &

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

1922 non

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

1838 non Hochst. 1842 non Lindley 1840 non

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

1864) ** ''S. multiciliata'' (

1892) Silva 1970 (=''Spironema multiciliatum''

1893) ** ''S. terricola'' ( Foissner & Foissner 1993) Shɨshkin 2022 (=''Spironema terricola'' Foissner & Foissner 1993) ** ''S. goodeyi'' ( Foissner & Foissner 1993) Shɨshkin 2022(=''Spironema goodeyi'' Foissner & Foissner 1993)

References

{{Taxonbar, from2=Q5365037 Hemimastigophora