General Characters & Classification: Dr. P. Ravi Sekhar

PROTOZOA
GENERAL CHARACTERS & CLASSIFICATION
Dr. P. RAVI SEKHAR

LECTURER IN ZOOLOGY
GOVT. COLLEGE FOR MEN (AUTONOMOUS)
KADAPA
PROTOZOA
GENERAL CHARACTERS & CLASSIFICATION
The animals kingdom is often distinguished into

two major categories, is based on a singular
character, the notochord.
Animals without notochord are called Non –
Chordates.
Animals possessing notochord are called
Chordates.
Major and minor Phyla
• Invertebrates are divided into major and minor

phyla. The concept of major and minor phyla
depends upon two factors.
1. Number of species and individuals in the phyla
2. Participation of Phyla in ecological communities
• On the basis of these two factors
Major phyla : 9
Minor phyla : 21
Invertibrate Phyla and approximate Number
S. No Phylum Major/ Number of S. No Phylum Major/ Number of
Minor species Minor species
1 Protozoa Major 50,000 16 Spunculida Minor 275
2 Mesozoa Minor 50 17 Mollusca Major 80,000
3 Porifera Major 10,000 18 Echiurida Minor 60
4 Coelenterata Major 11,000 19 Annelida Major 7,000
5 Ctenophora Minor 90 20 Tardigrada Minor 180
6 Platyhelmenthes Major 15,000 21 Onychophora Minor 65
7 Nementinea Minor 750 22 Pentastomadia Minor 70
8 Acanthocephala Minor 300 23 Arthropoda Major 9,00,000
9 Entoprocta Minor 60 24 Phorronida Minor 15
10 Rotifera Minor 1900 25 Ectoprocta Minor 4,000
11 Gastrotricha Minor 175 26 Branchiopoda Minor 260
12 Kinorhtcha Minor 100 27 Echinodermata Major 6,000
13 Nematoda Major 10,000 28 Chactognatha Minor 50
14 Namatophora Minor 250 29 Pogonophora Minor 80
15 Priyapuluda Minor 8 30 Hemichordata Minor 80

Introduction
• Protozoans are microscopic and acellular animalcules, without tissue and
organs.
• First discovered by Antony Von Leeuwenhoek in 1671.
• Van Siebold (1845) identified protozoans as single cellular organisms.
• Dobell named them as acellular or Non-cellular animals.
• Goldfuss named these organism as Protozoans
(G., protos=first; zoan=animal).
• About 50,000 species have been identified and named. This phylum
includes free and parasitic forms and cosmopolitan in distribution.
PROTOZOA
GENERAL CHARACTERS
PROTOZOA - GENERAL CHARACTERS
• Protozoans are first formed animals

• Small microscopic animalcules
• Originated in Precambian period of Paleozoic
era.
• Shape: Some of them are spherical, oval, ball
shaped, while some other are shapeless (or)
irregular.
• Habitat: Distributed all over the world, free living

symbionts, commensals and parasites.
• Lives in water, soil, air, on animals and inside the

animals.
• Symmetry: Radial or spherical, bilateral

symmetry and Asymmetrical,
• All are unicellular, body madeup of a single cell

• Single cell is capable of carrying out all the
metabolic activities, which characterized the
animal body.
• Body is naked or bounded by a pellicle, some
have shell or exoskeleton madeup of CaCo3 or
silica.
• Size: 0.002 mm to 16mm in size.
• A fossil, Nummulite is large and measured 19cm.
• Nucleus: Usually only one nucleus, eilophores

have two nuclei (dimorphic) One nucleus is large
and called macronucleus it carry all vegetative
metabolic activities and the other is small and
called micronucleus which is exclusively for
reproduction.
Locomotion: Locomotor organelles
are finger – like pseudopodia or wip
like flagella or hair like cilia or absent.
• Nutrition: holozoic (animal like), holophytic
(plant like), saprozoic or parasitic. Digestion
occurs intracellular inside of food vacuoles.
• Respiration: No special respiratory organs,

Respiration is carried by general body surface
through diffusion.
• Excretion: Through diffusion or through
contractile vacuoles which serves mainly for
osmoregulation.
• Reproduction: Asexually and Sexually

• Asexual reproduction by binary fusion, multiple
fusion or budding.
• Sexual reproduction by conjugation or by fusion
of gametes (syngamy).
• Life history often completed with alternation of
asexual and sexual phases.
• Encystment is a common protective phase,
commonly occurs to resist the unfavorable
conditions of food.
PROTOZOA - CLASSIFICATION
• There are different opinions on the classification

of protozoa.
• According to B.M. Honigberg (1964), Carlis
(1967) the phylum protozoa is classified in to
four subplyla:
• Sub phylum : Sarcomastigophora
• Sub phylum : Sporozoa
• Sub phylum : Cnidospora
• Sub phylum : Ciliophora
PHYLUM - PROTOZOA
Sub Phylum
Sarcomastigophora Sporozoa Cnidospora Ciliophora
Super class Class
Mastigophora Opalinata Sarcodina Teleosporia Taxoplasmia Haplosporia
Class Class
Phyto Zoo Rhizopoda Phyrophasmida Actinopoda

Mastigophora Mastigophora
Class
Mixosporidia Microsporidia
Class
Ciliata
• SUB PHYLUM - I. SARCOMASTIGOPHORA
• Locomotory organs are flagella , pseudopodia or
any one of them.
• One kind of Nuclei
• Body is covered by protective Pellicle.
• This sub phylum is divided into three super
classes:
1) Mastigophora, 2) Opalinata, 3) Sarcodina

Super class 1: Mastigophora (Flagellata):
• The locomotary organs are flagella

• Nutrition is autotropic or heterotropic or both
• The body is surrounded with firm pellicle
• They are divided into two classes:
1. Phytomastigophora, 2. Zoo mastigophora
• Class 1: Phytomastigophora (= Phytoflagellata)
• Chlorophil, chromatophores are present.

• Nutrition mainly holophytic
• Organisms are with one or two flagella.
• Reserve food material is starch or paramylon
• Orders: Chrysomonalida, Cryptomonalida, Euglenida,

Volvocida, Chloromonadida and Dinoflagellida.
• Eg: Chrysamoeba, Chilomonas, Clathodiccidella, Discoaster,

Euglena, Clamydomonas,Volvox, Coelomonas, Noctiluca,
Ceratium
Flagellates
• Class 2: Zoomastigophora (= Zooflagellata)
• Chlorophil or chromatophores abasent

• Nutrition is holozoic or saprozoic mostly parasitic
• The reserve food is glycogen
• orders : Rhizomastigida, kinetoplastida, Choanoflagellida,

Diplomonadida, Hypermastigida and Trichomonadida
• Eg: Mastogamoeba, Dimorpha, Leishmania, Trypanosoma,

proterospongia, Giardia, Lophomonas, Trychonympha,
Trichomonas etc
Zoomastigophores
Super class 2: Opalinata :
• Entire body covered by cilia like flagella
• The Nuclei are two to many and are monomorphic
• They lead parasitic life mainly on amphibians
• Reproduction is by binary fission or by syngamy
• This includes only one order i.e. Opalinida
• Eg: Opalina, Jellirilla
Opalina
• Super class 3: Sarcodina
• locomotary organs are Pseudopodia and help in food
capturing
• Mostly free living some are parasitic
• Nutrition is holozoic or saprozoic
• Food vacuoles, contractile vacuoles are present. Marine
forms lack contractile vacuoles.
• Encystment takes place in unfavorable conditions
• They are divided into three classes:

Rhizopoda, Actinopoda, Pyroplasmida
• Class 1: Rhizopoda:
• Pseudopodia are lobopodia, filopodia or reticulopodia.
• In general body is naked without pellicle, in some
cases body is enclosed in chambered shell.
• Protoplasm is divided into outer ectoplasm and inner
endoplasm.
• Eg: Amoeba, Entamoeba, Arcella Difflugia, Globigerina
Euglypha, Elphidium, Laberinthula etc.
Globigerina
Elphidium
Class 2: Actinopoda:
• Pseudopodia are delicate and form of axopodia and
reticulopodia
• These are round and floats on water
• Body may be naked or enclosed with chitin or silica shell
• Eg: Thallaciocola, Actinophyns (sun animalcule), Acanthometra, Clathrulina.
Pseudospora etc.
Actinophyns ( Thallaciocola,
• Class 3: Phyrophasmida:
• Blood parasites in vertebrate blood.

• Cilia and flagella are absent
• Gliding locomotion
• Eg: Thilaria, Babesia
• SUB PHYLUM - II. SPOROZOA:
• Locomotory organelles are absent
• Exclusively endoparasites
• Body is covered by protective pellicle
• Asexual reproduction - multiple fission.
• Sexual reproduction - fusion of micro and macro
gametes.
• It is divided in to three classes :
Teleosporia, Texoplasmia, Haplosporia
• Class 1: Teleosporia:
• Monogenetic or digenetic parasites
• Produce spores without polar capsule of filament
• Locomotary organelles are absent - gliding
locomotion
• Ex: Celenadium, Monocystis, Gregarina, Neina, Ophiocystis,
Eimeria, Plasmodium etc.
• Class 2 : Texoplasmia:
• They lead parasitic life on Humans, Birds and
Reptiles
• Only asexual reproduction - binary fission
Ex: Sarcocystis, Taxoplasma
SUB PHYLUM – III . CNIDOSPORA:
• All are parasites
• Spores with polar filaments, spores formation occur throughout the life
• Asexual reproduction is by binary fusion,
• Sexual reproduction is by iso or anisogamets.
• There are two classes in this subphylum:

Myxosporidea, Microsporidea
• Class 1 : Myxosporidea:
• Spores are large, developed from several nuclei

• Valvular membrane encloses the gamets.
• It includes orders: Mixosporida, Actinomixida, Helicosporida
Ex: Mixidium, Leptotheca, Triactinomixon, Helicosporidium

• Class 2 : Microsporidea:
• Spores are very small developed from one nucleus.
• The spores may be with or without polar capsule.
• They live as parasites in insects and fishes.
• It includes only one order: Microsporidia
• Ex: Cadospora, Nosema

SUB PHYLUM - IV. CILIOPHORA:
• Locomotor and feeding organelles are cilia
• Body covered with hard pellicle and posses cilia all over the body
• All these organisms included in the class Ciliata
• Micro nucleus and macronucleus are present
• In ciliates one or more contractile vacuoles are present
• Reproduction is by sexual and asexual methods
• Ex: Praramoecium, Balantidium, Vertecella, Didinium, Ephelota, Nectotherus,
Podophrya etc.
Ciliates

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PROTOZOA

GENERAL CHARACTERS & CLASSIFICATION

Dr. P. RAVI SEKHAR

The animals kingdom is often distinguished into

• Invertebrates are divided into major and minor

1 Protozoa Major 50,000 16 Spunculida Minor 275

2 Mesozoa Minor 50 17 Mollusca Major 80,000

3 Porifera Major 10,000 18 Echiurida Minor 60

4 Coelenterata Major 11,000 19 Annelida Major 7,000

5 Ctenophora Minor 90 20 Tardigrada Minor 180

6 Platyhelmenthes Major 15,000 21 Onychophora Minor 65

7 Nementinea Minor 750 22 Pentastomadia Minor 70

8 Acanthocephala Minor 300 23 Arthropoda Major 9,00,000

9 Entoprocta Minor 60 24 Phorronida Minor 15

10 Rotifera Minor 1900 25 Ectoprocta Minor 4,000

11 Gastrotricha Minor 175 26 Branchiopoda Minor 260

12 Kinorhtcha Minor 100 27 Echinodermata Major 6,000

13 Nematoda Major 10,000 28 Chactognatha Minor 50

14 Namatophora Minor 250 29 Pogonophora Minor 80

15 Priyapuluda Minor 8 30 Hemichordata Minor 80

• First discovered by Antony Von Leeuwenhoek in 1671.

• Van Siebold (1845) identified protozoans as single cellular organisms.

• Dobell named them as acellular or Non-cellular animals.

• Goldfuss named these organism as Protozoans

(G., protos=first; zoan=animal).

• Protozoans are first formed animals

• Habitat: Distributed all over the world, free living

• Lives in water, soil, air, on animals and inside the

• Symmetry: Radial or spherical, bilateral

• All are unicellular, body madeup of a single cell

• Nucleus: Usually only one nucleus, eilophores

• Respiration: No special respiratory organs,

• Reproduction: Asexually and Sexually

• There are different opinions on the classification

Sarcomastigophora Sporozoa Cnidospora Ciliophora

Super class Class

Mastigophora Opalinata Sarcodina Teleosporia Taxoplasmia Haplosporia

Phyto Zoo Rhizopoda Phyrophasmida Actinopoda

1) Mastigophora, 2) Opalinata, 3) Sarcodina

• The locomotary organs are flagella

• Chlorophil, chromatophores are present.

• Orders: Chrysomonalida, Cryptomonalida, Euglenida,

• Eg: Chrysamoeba, Chilomonas, Clathodiccidella, Discoaster,

• Chlorophil or chromatophores abasent

• orders : Rhizomastigida, kinetoplastida, Choanoflagellida,

• Eg: Mastogamoeba, Dimorpha, Leishmania, Trypanosoma,

• Eg: Opalina, Jellirilla

• They are divided into three classes:

• Blood parasites in vertebrate blood.

• Asexual reproduction is by binary fusion,

• Sexual reproduction is by iso or anisogamets.

• There are two classes in this subphylum:

• Spores are large, developed from several nuclei

Ex: Mixidium, Leptotheca, Triactinomixon, Helicosporidium

• Spores are very small developed from one nucleus.

• The spores may be with or without polar capsule.

• They live as parasites in insects and fishes.

• It includes only one order: Microsporidia

• Ex: Cadospora, Nosema