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A protist ( / ˈproʊtɪst / PROH-tist) or protoctist is any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, land plant, or fungus. Protists do not form a natural group, or clade, but are a polyphyletic grouping of several independent clades that evolved from the last eukaryotic common ancestor .
Protozoa ( sg.: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. [ 1][ 2] Historically, protozoans were regarded as "one-celled animals".
Marine protists are defined by their habitat as protists that live in marine environments, that is, in the saltwater of seas or oceans or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. Life originated as marine single-celled prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and later evolved into more complex eukaryotes. Eukaryotes are the more developed life forms ...
Ciliates are an important group of protists, common almost anywhere there is water—in lakes, ponds, oceans, rivers, and soils, including anoxic and oxygen-depleted habitats. [ 2] About 4,500 unique free-living species have been described, and the potential number of extant species is estimated at 27,000–40,000. [ 3]
A protist (/ ˈ p r oʊ t ɪ s t /) is any eukaryotic organism (one with cells containing a nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus.The protists do not form a natural group, or clade, since they exclude certain eukaryotes with whom they share a common ancestor; [a] but, like algae or invertebrates, the grouping is used for convenience.
Phytoplankton are photosynthesizing microscopic protists and bacteria that inhabit the upper sunlit layer of marine and fresh water bodies of water on Earth. Paralleling plants on land, phytoplankton undertake primary production in water, [2] creating organic compounds from carbon dioxide dissolved in the water.
P. Protist locomotion (1 P) Protist taxa by rank (10 C) Protistologists (2 C, 20 P) Protists by year of description (34 C) Protozoal diseases (7 C, 27 P)
Protist locomotion. Protists are the eukaryotes that cannot be classified as plants, fungi or animals. They are mostly unicellular and microscopic. Many unicellular protists, particularly protozoans, are motile and can generate movement using flagella, cilia or pseudopods.