Protozoa Guide review

Polymastix Butschli

genus / OXYMONADIDA / POLYMASTIGIDAE

Description

Almond or spindle-shaped cell with 4 anterior free flagella arranged in 2 pairs (Fig. 58). Flagella deflected backward, but no adherent recurrent flagellum. Nucleus pointed anteriorly with a OXYMONADID posterior endosome. Reduced anterior pelta and slender axostyle not protruding posteriorly. Electron microscopy has shown the basic oxymonad characters: basal bodies arranged in 2 pairs and attached on each side of the preaxostylar lamina (Brugerolle , 1980). The anterior tip of the nucleus is linked by a striated fiber to one pair of basal bodies. The cell is often covered by adhering rod-shaped bacteria such as Fusiformis. The 5 species reported occur in the lower intestine of coleoptera. insect larvae such as Melo/ontha, Phyllophaga, and in Myriapods such as Glomeris; light microscopic description and list of species in Grasse, 1952; for EM, Brugerolle, 1980.

Type species

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Raw text

Almond or spindle-shaped cell with 4 anterior free
flagella arranged in 2 pairs (Fig. 58). Flagella
deflected backward, but no adherent recurrent
flagellum. Nucleus pointed anteriorly with a
OXYMONADID
posterior endosome. Reduced anterior pelta and
slender axostyle not protruding posteriorly.
Electron microscopy has shown the basic oxymonad
characters: basal bodies arranged in 2 pairs and
attached on each side of the preaxostylar lamina
(Brugerolle , 1980). The anterior tip of the
nucleus is linked by a striated fiber to one pair of
basal bodies. The cell is often covered by adhering
rod-shaped bacteria such as Fusiformis. The 5
species reported occur in the lower intestine of
coleoptera. insect larvae such as Melo/ontha,
Phyllophaga, and in Myriapods such as Glomeris;
light microscopic description and list of species in
Grasse, 1952; for EM, Brugerolle, 1980.