Chrompodellid
| Chrompodellids | |
|---|---|
| Typical life cycle stages of Vitrella brassicaformis, a chromerid (vc: vegetative cell, zs: zoosporangium, as: autosporangium) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Chromerida Moore et al. 2008 |
| Class: | Colpodellophyceae Mylnikov et al. 2000 |
| Order: | Colpodellida Cavalier-Smith 1993 |
| Type genus | |
| Colpodella Cienkowsky 1865 | |
| Families | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Chrompodellids are a phylum of single-celled protists belonging to the Alveolata supergroup. It comprises two different polyphyletic groups of flagellates: the colpodellids, phagotrophic predators, and the chromerids, photosynthetic algae that live as symbionts of corals. These groups were independently discovered and described, but molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that they are intermingled in a clade that is the closest relative to Apicomplexa, and they became collectively known as chrompodellids. Due to the history of their research, they are variously known in biological classification as Chromerida or Colpodellida (ICZN)/Colpodellales (ICN).