Phylum Protozoa Examples & Characteristics

(Animal like Protists)

tanveer hussain tanveer hussain

3 years ago

Kingdom Protoctista is a group of living organisms that includes eukaryotes

Characteristics of Phylum Protozoa and is unicellular in nature. the Phylum protozoa are classified into
four major subdivisions by locomotion. unicellular pattern microscopic having no germ layers are some
common characteristics of Phylum Protozoa.

Characteristics of Phylum Protozoa Protozoa

i. Acellular Body

The animals of Phylum protozoa contain a cellular body i.e. the body is not divided into cells. A single
cell performs all functions. They are microscopic animals.

ii. The shape of Body in Phylum Protozoa

They are elongated, rounded oval, or irregular in shape. The body is covered by plasmalemma (irregular
animals) or pellicle (regular animals).

Phylum Protozoa

iii. Protoplasm

The protoplasm usually consists of two parts, outer ectoplasm, and inner endoplasm.

iv. Presence of Nucleus in Phylum Protozoa

A definite nucleus is present in the body, so they are eukaryotes. The number of nuclei is one or many.
v. Nutrition in Phylum Protozoa

They capture their food and digest it in the food vacuole. The digestion is intercellular.

vi. Respiration in Phylum Protozoa

Respiration takes place by diffusion through the external surface of the body.

vii. Osmoregulation

They can maintain the internal salt and water balance due to the pressure of osmoregulatory vacuoles in
free-living animals. In parasite forms, the osmoregulatory vacuole is absent.

viii. Movement

Movement takes place by pseudopodia, cilia, or flagella.

ix. Irritability in Phylum Protozoa

The protozoans show the response against different stimuli e.g. they show a positive response in dim
light but the negative response in intense light. Similarly, they show positive and negative responses
against different types of stimuli.

x. Reproduction in Phylum Protozoa

Reproduction occurs by simple cell division, spore formation, or sexual method.

All protozoa animals are unicellular. Most of the protozoa animals ingest their food by Endocytosis.
There are different groups of protozoa. These are Zooflagellates, Amoebas, Actinopoda, Foraminifera,
Apicomplexans, and Ciliates.

after the Characteristics of Phylum Protozoa let’s have a look at some of their examples.
Examples of Phylum protozoa

Protozoa can be described into four different Types such as Flagellated protozoa, Ciliated protozoa,
Sporozoal protozoa, and Rhinopod protozoa. it’s better to give separate examples of each type of
protozoa.

Flagellated protozoa

Those protozoa who have a kind of tail that is called flagella having very slow movement. Flagellated
protozoa present in both vertebrates and invertebrates. here are Some examples of Flagellated
protozoa.

Trypanosoma cruzi

Naegleria

Euglena

Pediastrum

Trichomonas

Trachelomonas

Schizotrypanum

Noctiluca

Giardia

Volvox

Ciliated protozoa

Ciliated protozoa always live in fresh-water. mostly they are found in water pools where a variety of
organic matter is usually found. here are some examples of Ciliated protozoa.

The Paramecium

Coleps
Balantidium

Entodinium

Colpoda

Blepharocorys

Paramecium

Lacrymaria

Colpidium

Dileptus

Didinium

Sporozoal protozoa

Sporozoal protozoa live as a host with the living things. here are some examples of Sporozoal protozoa.

The Plomarium Malarie

Ascetosporea

Loxodes

Toxoplasma Gondii

Plasmodium vivax

Coccidia

Plasmodium falciparum

Hemosporidia

Plasmodium ovale

Eimeria

Rhinopod protozoa

Rhinopod protozoa are the fourth type of protozoa. they move with the help of cytoplasm with the
presence of a kind of false feet. some examples of Rhinopod protozoa are given bellow:
Amoeba

Endolimax nana

Entamoeba coli

Iodamoeba buetschlii

Classes of Protozoa

Groups of Protozoa (Table)

A. Amoebas

Amoebas

This group includes all the free-living freshwater, marine, and soil amoebas. It also has some parasites of
animals.

They are unicellular.

Amoeba lack flagella. They move by forming specialized cytoplasmic projections called pseudopodia
(false foot).

Example: The intestinal parasite, Entamoeba histolytica, causes amoebic dysentery in humans.

The Giant Amoeba

The giant amoeba Pelomyxa palustris is the most primitive amoeba. This species has multiple
membranous-bound nuclei. Such organelles are not present in any of the eukaryotes. The giant amoeba
obtains energy form methanogenic bacteria. These bacteria live inside the giant bacteria. Giant amoeba
lives inside the mud at the bottom of freshwater ponds. They are involved in the degradation of organic
molecules.

The Giant Amoeba

B. Zooflagellates

These protists are mostly unicellular. A few organisms are colonial.

They have spherical or elongated bodies.

Zooflagellates have a single central nucleus.

They possess one too many long, whips like flagella for locomotion. These flagella are present at the
anterior end. Flagellates move rapidly. They pull their body forward by lashing flexible flagella.

They obtain their food by ingesting living or dead organisms. Some flagellates obtain nutrients from the
dead organisms or decomposing organic matter.

They may be symbionts, parasites, or free living.

i. Symbionts

Trichonymphas are complex and specialized flagellates. They have many flagella. They live as symbionts
in the guts of termites. Symbionts help termites in the digestion of dry wood.

ii. Parasitic flagellates

Parasitic flagellates cause diseases. For example, Trypansoma is a human parasite. It causes African
sleeping sickness disease. It is transmitted by the infected tsetse fly.

iii. Free-living flagellates

Choanoflagellates are sessile, marine or freshwater flagellates. They are attached by a stalk. Their single
flagellum is surrounded by a delicate collar. These organisms are most important for the evolutionary
point of view as they have striking similarities with the collar cells of the sponges.

It is believed that sponges have evolved from the Choanoflagellates.

C. Ciliates

Ciliates are unicellular organisms.

They have flexible outer covering called pellicle. It gives them a definite shape. But this shape can be
changed.
Protozoa

Their body is covered with cilia. The surface of paramecium is covered with several thousand cilia. These
cilia are fine, short, hair-like structures. Cilia move in a coordinated manner. These cilia help the
organism to move forward, move backward, and turn around.

Some ciliates are sessile and remain attached with the rock or other surfaces. Their cilia produce water
current. This water current brings the food towards the organism.

Most ciliates ingest bacteria and other tiny protists. .

They have special organelles called contractile vacuoles. They regulate the water movement in
freshwater ciliates.

All other protozoans have single nucleus but ciliates have two kinds of nuclei:

Micronuclei: These are small and diploid nuclei. Each ciliate have one or more micronuclei. They are
involved in sexual reproduction.

Macronuclei: It is a large and polyploid (with many sets of chromosomes) nucleus. It controls cell
metabolism and growth.

Most of the ciliates undergo sexual reproduction called conjugation. During conjugation two individuals
come close each other and exchange genetic material.

D. Foraminiferans and Actinopods

These marine protozoans produce shells or tests. Tests of Foraminiferans are made up of calcium
carbonate. While the tests of Actinopoda is made up of silica.

The shell or tests contain pores through which cytoplasmic projections come out. These cytoplasmic
projections form a sticky. Interconnected net. Preys are entangled in this net.

Dead Foraminiferans sink to the bottom of the ocean. They form grey mud. This grey mud gradually
transformed into chalk. The old and dead Foraminiferans are changed into limestone deposits.

E. Apicomplexans

Apicomplexans

Apicomplexans are a large group of parasitic protozoa. Some of them cause serious diseases in man such
as malaria.
They lack locomotory organs, but they move by flexing (bending). They develop spore at some stage of
their life. These spores are small infective agents that are transmitted to the next generation.

Many Apicomplexans spend their life in two or more hosts.

Example: Plasmodium.

Plasmodium

It causes malaria. It is entered into the human body of the man by the biting of female Anopheles
mosquito. Plasmodium first enters into liver cells. Then it enters red blood cells (RBC). It multiplies in the
RBC. The RBC bursts and releases many parasites.

The simultaneous bursting of millions of RBC caused the symptom of malaria. These symptoms are chill
and high fever. This fever is caused by toxic substances. These toxic substances also affect the other
organs of the body.

Plasmodium

Life Cycle of Plasmodium:

Plasmodium is a micro-organism, belongs to the phylum protozoa. It causes a disease in the body of
human beings, called Malaria. The life cycle of plasmodium is completed in the body of two hosts, hence
they are known as Digenic Parasite.

In the body of man, it is called the Primary Host.

In the body of female Anopheles mosquito, it is called Secondary Host.

Watch Video About the Phylum Protozoa

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