The phylum Sarcomastigophora belongs to the Protista or protoctista kingdom and it includes many unicellular or colonial, autotrophic, or heterotrophic organisms. It is characterized by flagellae, pseudopodia, or both.[1]
Taxonomy
It is divided into three subphyla: the Mastigophora, the Sarcodina and the Opalinata.[2]
It is polyphyletic, and it is not a universally recognized classification. It places great significance upon method of locomotion in generating the taxonomy.
It can be described either as:
- kingdom Protista → phylum Sarcomastigophora
or in older classifications as
- phylum Protozoa → subphylum Sarcomastigophora.[3]
Characteristics
It gets its name from the combination of "Sarcodina" (which is an older term used for amoeboids)[4] and "Mastigophora" (which is an older term for flagellates).
The characteristics of phylum sarcomastigophora are :
(1) Nucleus is of one type except in the stages of certain foraminifera.
(2) Locomotory organ either pseudopodia or flagella or both.
(3) Reproduction asexual , but when sexually it is essentially by syngamy
(4) Spore formation is absent.
Example : Amoeba, Euglena etc.