Note

The Lineages of Eukaryotes

David J. Patterson

This description of the diversity of protists is based on two reviews (Patterson, 1994, 1999) . These papers present one of several differing views about the diversity and inter-relationships of the protists and other eukaryotes (e.g. Cavalier-Smith, 1993, 1994; 1998; Corliss, 1984, 1994; Margulis et al., 1990). Patterson argues that the groups which share a common cytological organization (an 'ultrastructural identity' - Patterson and Brugerolle, 1988) generally constitute monophyletic lineages. The concept of ultrastructural identities is used to generate the concept that there are about60 types of eukaryotes.

An ultrastructural identity refers to the appearance of a variety of features. They include:

This approach identifies the types of eukaryotes listed below. As new taxa are identified by further exploration of the world around us or by the study of genera with ambiguous identities (see second table below) so new ultrastructural identities are revealed, and this list lengthens. As relationships are agreed through comparative molecular biology or comparative morphology, so the list shortens. Over the last decade the list has shortened from about 85 lineages to about 60 lineages.

Lineages of eukaryotes: groupings which share an ultrastructural identity and have no evident sister group

Acantharea a type of radiolaria
Alveolates dinoflagellates, ciliates, and apicomplexan sporozoa
Ancyromonas genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Apusomonads several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Biomyxa genus of free-living amoebae
Centroheliozoa several genera of heliozoa
Cercomonads several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Chlorarachniophytes amoeboid organisms with symbiotic algal plastids
Coelosporidium parasitic flagellates
Collodictyon genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Copromyxids slime-mould like protists
Cryothecomonas genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Cryptomonads several genera of algal and heterotrophic flagellates
Desmothoracids several genera of heliozoon-like protists
Dimorphids several genera of heliozoon-like flagellates
Diphylleia genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Discocelis genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Ebriids several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Ellobiopsids several genera of parasitic flagellates
Entamoebidae several genera of amitochondriate and parasitic amoebae
Excavates flagellates, diplomonads, jakobids, retortamonads, Trimastix, Carpediemonas, heterolobosea, etc.
Euglenozoa flagellates, euglenids and kinetoplastids
Fonticula a genus of slime-mould-like protists
Glaucophytes protists with photosynthetic endosymbionts
Granuloreticulosa amoebae, mostly foraminifera
Gymnophrea several genera of amoebae
Gymnosphaerida a type of heliozoon
Haplosporids parasitic sporozoa
Haptophytes algal flagellates (also called prymnesiophytes)
Kathablepharids several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Komokiacea large marine amoebae
Luffisphaera marine protists
Ministeria genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Multicilia genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Nephridiophagids parasitic protists
Nucleariidae amoebae with thin pseudopodia
Opisthokonts chytrids, fungi, microsporidia, collar-flagellates, metazoa
Oxymonads several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Parabasalids several genera of parasitic heterotrophic flagellate
Paramyxea parasitic sporozoa
Pelobionts several genera of amitochondriate flagellates
Phaeodarea a type of radiolaria
Phagodinium parasitic flagellates
Phalansterium genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Plasmodiophorids parasitic flagellates
Polycystinea a type of radiolaria
Pseudospora parasitic amoebo-flagellates
Ramicristates most amoebae, including dictyostelid and myxomycete slime moulds and Hyperamoeba
Red algae unicellular and multicellular algae
Rosette agent parasitic protist
Spironemids several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Spongomonads several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Stephanopogon genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Sticholonche genus of heliozoa with mobile arms
Stramenopiles major group, includes diatoms, chrysophytes, brown algae, opalines, and (incertae sedis) the hamatores which include Caecitellus and the pseudodendromonads
Telonema genus of heterotrophic flagellates
Thaumatomonads several genera of heterotrophic flagellates
Vampyrellids fungus- and alga-eating amoebae
Viridaeplantae green algae and the green plants
Xenophyophores large marine amoebae

Genera of protists for which no clear identity has been developed (after Patterson, 1999)

Free-Living Heterotrophic Flagellates Parasitic Protists Algal Protists Amoeboid Protists Nature Uncertain
  • Acinetactis
  • Allantion
  • Allas
  • Alphamonas
  • Amphimonas
  • Artodiscus
  • Aulomonas
  • Bodomorpha
  • Bodopsis
  • Bordnamonas
  • Campanoeca
  • Cladomonas
  • Clautriavia
  • Codonoeca
  • Cruzella
  • Cyathomonas
  • Cyclomonas
  • Dallingeria
  • Dimastigamoeba
  • Dingensia
  • Dinoasteromonas
  • Dinomonas
  • Diplocalium
  • Diplomita
  • Diploselmis
  • Errera
  • Fromentella
  • Heliobodo
  • Kamera
  • Kiitoksia
  • Macappella
  • Metopion
  • Microcometes
  • Micromonas
  • Monochrysis
  • Parabodo
  • Paramastix
  • Paramonas
  • Peltomonas
  • Phanerobia
  • Phloxamoeba
  • Phyllomitus
  • Phyllomonas
  • Platytheca
  • Pleurostomum
  • Quadricilia
  • Proleptomonas
  • Rhizomonas
  • Rigidomastix
  • Sainouron
  • Salpingorhiza
  • Schewiakoffia
  • Stenocodon
  • Stephanomonas
  • Toshiba
  • Trichonema
  • Amoeboaphelidium
  • Amylophagus
  • Aphelidiopsis
  • Barbetia
  • Bertarellia
  • Bertramia
  • Cibdelia
  • Cingula
  • Cristalloidophora
  • Cytamoeba
  • Dermocystidium
  • Dinemula
  • Diplophysalis
  • Ducelleria
  • Echinococcidium
  • Ectobiella
  • Elleipsisoma
  • Embryocola
  • Endamoeba
  • Endemosarca
  • Endobiella
  • Endomonas
  • Endospora
  • Eperythrocytozoon
  • Globidiellum
  • Gymnococcus
  • Haematotractidium
  • Hyalochlorella
  • Ichthyophonus
  • Immnoplasma
  • Labyrinthomyxa
  • Lymphocytozoon
  • Lymphosporidium
  • Mononema
  • Myrmicisporidium
  • Naupliicola
  • Neurosporidium
  • Ovicola
  • Paradinemula
  • Palisporomonas
  • Paraplasma
  • Parastasia
  • Parastasiella
  • Physcosporidium
  • Piridium
  • Polysporella
  • Protenterospora
  • Protomonas
  • Protomyxa
  • Pseudoaphelidium
  • Pseudosporopsis
  • Rhabdospora
  • Rhinosporidium
  • Rhynchodinium
  • Sergentella
  • Serpentoplasma
  • Spermatobium
  • Sphaerasuctans
  • Spiriopsis
  • Spirogregarian
  • Toxocystis
  • Trophosphaera
  • X-cells
  • Adinomonas
  • Archaeosphaerodiniopsis
  • Aurospora
  • Berghiella
  • Bjornbergiella
  • Boekelovia
  • Camptoptyche
  • Chalarodora
  • Chlamydomyxa
  • Copromonas
  • Dinoasteromonas
  • Cyanomastix
  • Dinoceras
  • Glaucocystopsis
  • Goniodinium
  • Heteromastix
  • Hillea
  • Isoselmis
  • Histiophysis
  • Melanodinium
  • Meringosphaera
  • Monodus
  • Nephrodinium
  • Pachydinium
  • Peliainia
  • Petasaria
  • Phialonema
  • Pleuromastix
  • Pseudoactiniscus
  • Strobilomonas
  • Syncrypta
  • Tetragonidium
  • Thaulirens
  • Thaumatodinium
  • Thylakomonas
  • Triangulomonas
  • Actinastrum
  • Actinocoma
  • Actinolophus
  • Actinelius
  • Aletium
  • Amphitrema
  • Apogromia
  • Asterocaelum
  • Astrolophus
  • Balamuthia
  • Belaria
  • Belonocystis
  • Branchipocola
  • Chamydophrys
  • Chlamydomyxa
  • Cichkovia
  • Cinetidomyxa
  • Clathrella
  • Dictyomyxa
  • Dinamoeba
  • Dobellina
  • Elaeorhanis
  • Endamoeba
  • Endalimax
  • Enteromyxa
  • Flamella
  • Gymnophrydium
  • Hartmannina
  • Heterogromia
  • Hyalodaktylethra
  • Iodamoeba
  • Janickina
  • Kibisidytes
  • Lagenidiopsids
  • Leptophrys
  • Leukarachnion
  • Liegeosia
  • Lithocolla
  • Malpighiella
  • Martineziella
  • Megamoebomyxa
  • Microgromia
  • Myxodictyum
  • Penardia
  • Pleuophrys
  • Podactinelius
  • Podostoma
  • Pontomyxa
  • Protogenes
  • Protomonas
  • Raphidiophryopsis
  • Reticulamoeba
  • Rhizoplasma
  • Servetia
  • Stygamoeba
  • Thalssomyxa
  • Theratromyxa
  • Topsentella
  • Trizona
  • Urbanella
  • Wagnerella
  • Asthmatos
  • Endostelium
  • Euchitonia
  • Euglenocapsa
  • Heliomonas
  • Hermisenella
  • Ligniera
  • Magosphaera
  • Pansporella
  • Perkinsiella
  • Phagomyxa
  • Polymyxa
  • Sorosphaera
  • Spongastericus
  • Spongocyclia
  • Spongospora

References

Cavalier-Smith, T. 1993. Kingdom Protozoa and its 18 phyla. Microbiol. Rev. 57:953-94.

Cavalier-Smith, T. 1998. A revised six-kingdom system of Life Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 73: 203-266.

Copeland, H. F. 1956. Classification of the Lower Organisms. Pacific Books, Palo Alto, California.

Corliss, J. O. 1984. The Kingdom Protista and its 45 phyla. BioSystems 17: 87-126.

Corliss, J.O. 1994. An interim ("user-friendly") hierarchical classification and characterization of the protists. Acta Protozoologica, 33:1-51.

Margulis L., Corliss J. O., Melkonian, M. and Chapman D. J. 1990. Handbook of Protoctista. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston.

Patterson, D. J. 1994. Protozoa: Evolution and Systematics. In: Hausmann, K. and Hülsmann, N. (eds.): Progress in Protozoology, (Proceedings of the IX International Congress of Protozoology, Berlin 1993), pp 1-14. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, Jena, New York USA.

Patterson, D. J. 1999. The diversity of eukaryotes. American Naturalist 154 (suppl.):S96-S124.

Patterson, D. J. and Brugerolle, G. 1988. The ultrastructural identity of Stephanopogon apogon and its relatedness to other kinds of protists. European Journal of Protistology, 23, 279-290.

About This Page

David J. Patterson
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

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