| Chilomastix | 
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| Electron micrograph of Chilomastix cuspidata. The "9+2" axoneme and the enclosing membrane can be seen, the flagellum has two vanes. | 
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| Scientific classification | 
| Domain: |  | 
| (unranked): |  | 
| Phylum: |  | 
| Class: | Retortamonadea | 
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| Family: |  | 
| Genus: | Chilomastix 
 Aléxéieff, 1910 | 
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| Species | 
| C. aulostomi Bělař 1921C. bandicooti Todd 1963C. bettencourti da Fonseca 1915C. bocis Aléxéieff 1912C. bursa Moskowitz 1951C. caprae da Fonseca 1915C. caulleryi (Aléxéieff 1909) Aléxéieff 1910C. cuniculi da Fonseca 1916C. cuspidata (Larsen & Patterson 1990) Bernard et al. 1997C. echinorum Powers 1936C. equi Abraham 1961C. gadrii Krishnamurthy 1970C. gallinarum Martin & Robertson 1911C. giganta Nie 1948C. graecae Navarathnam 1971C. granatensis Rodríguez López-Neyra & Suárez-Peregrín 1932C. hemidactyli Madre 1979C. hyderabadensis Todd 1963C. intestinalis Kuczynski 1914C. instabilis Crouch 1936C. kudoi C. magna Becker 1926C. megamorpha Abraham 1961C. mesnili C. motellae C. murisC. navasi da Fonseca 1940C. nigricollisi Todd 1963C. olympioiC. osmaniae Navarathnam 1971C. palmari Todd 1963C. peccariiC. quadrii C. rosenbuschi da Fonseca 1916C. simiaeC. suisC. tarsii Porter 1952C. undulata Skuja 1956C. wenrichi Nie 1948
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| Synonyms | 
| Macrostoma Aléxéieff 1909 non Risso 1826 non Hedwig 1806 non Latreille 1825 non Griffith 1836 non Agassiz 1839Cyathomastix Prowazek & Werner 1915Tetrachilomastix (da Fonseca 1915) da Fonseca 1920Chilomastix (Tetrachilomastix) da Fonseca 1915Fanapepea Prowazek 1911Difamus Gäbel 1914
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Chilomastix is a genus of pyriform excavates within the family Retortamonadidae. All species within this genus are flagellated, structured with three flagella pointing anteriorly and a fourth contained within the feeding groove. Chilomastix also lacks Golgi apparatus and mitochondria but does possess a single nucleus. The genus parasitizes a wide range of vertebrate hosts, but is known to be typically non-pathogenic, and is therefore classified as harmless. The life cycle of Chilomastix lacks an intermediate host or vector. Chilomastix has a resistant cyst stage responsible for transmission and a trophozoite stage, which is recognized as the feeding stage. Chilomastix mesnili is one of the more studied species in this genus due to the fact it is a human parasite. Therefore, much of the information on this genus is based on what is known about this one species.