The amoeba is a very common type of protozoan Trypanosoma is a flagellate type of protozoan and causes sleeping sickness A flagellate protozoan. Can you see the flagella? Facts about protozoa: Are protists Lives mostly as a heterotrophic organism; most eat bacteria or other protozoa, but a few can take in nutrients dissolved in water Do well in wet environments Though only a few percentage of protozoa are parasites, they cause some of the most harmful diseases The four most groups are flagellates, amoebas, apicomplexans, and ciliates

Rhizopoda Commonly called amoebas Does not really possess a defined structure although some do live inside a protein shell Characterized by pseudopodia, or “fake feet” Pseudopodia are used for movement as well as capturing food; tKU tKU Include various organisms; from amoebas to slime molds Found in freshwater and marine habitats Since there is a lot of variety, reproduction is varied; some reproduce by binary fission and some using spores Rhizopoda can often be classified by the shape and structure of the pseudopods A rhizopod, also known as an amoeba.

Radiolarians Are amoeboid protozoa Have detailed skeletons; with inner (endoplasm) and outer (ectoplasm) parts Skeletons are usually fused into one beautiful piece Possess many pseudopodia that look like needles Use their buoyancy in coasting ocean currents to move around Reproduce both sexually and asexually Heliozoans Very similar to radiolarians Skeleton consists of glassy plates that are not fused Circular amoeboid with pseudopods around the body (appearing like a sun) Differ from radiolarians in that their skeleton is not as complex A radiolarian, with many pseudopodia at the bottom Heliozoans have a similar appearance to the sun Both radiolarians and heliozoans are referred to as actinopods, due to slender pseudopodia

Amoeba Common type of protozoa Doesn’t really possess any definite shape and are very flexible as a result Uses pseudopodia to move and eat; =related =related Live in freshwater and saltwater and can be parasites Also have endoplasm and ectoplasm Amoebas don’t have a definite structure

Paramecium Are a ciliate protozoa, using cilia for movement and eating Are oval-like and possess slipper shape Found in fresh water environments (warm waters) Are covered in cilia, food travels along cilia into the oral groove Have two types of nuclei; large macronucleus and then 80 tiny diploid nuclei used in sexual reproduction Paramecium are unicellular protists capable of both sexual and asexual (binary fission; more common) reproduction Asexual reproduction occurs when the organism’s macronucleus elongates and splits The complex sexual mixing of genes in paramecium happens during conjugation, the numerous tiny nuclei undergo meiosis in this process Paramecium eat microorganisms such as algae, bacteria, and yeast The structure of paramecium

Paramecium- Conjugation

Foraminiferans Also have pseudopodia for movement, feeding, and shell formation Are almost all marine, living in the sand or attached to rocks and algae, or even present in plankton Named for their porous shells made of calcium carbonate Very large animals, shells can grow up to 1 inch long Notice the porous skeleton in this foraminifera

Foraminiferans A foraminifera fossil, which are very useful and important in dating sedimentary rocks When the foraminiferans die, the shells drop to the bottom and the calcium carbonate forms calcareous ooze The calcareous ooze has settled to the bottom of the sea forming much of the sediment found on the ocean floor, forming much of the sedimentary rocks in the earth. Foraminiferans leave fossils that can be used to correlate the ages of sedimentary rocks! Study of fossil foraminiferans has been extremely important in recognizing geological strata and for dating deposits The oil industry relies heavily on these microfossils to find potential oil deposits