Colponemid
| Colponemids | |
|---|---|
| SEM image of Colponema vietnamica showing anterior (af) and posterior (pf) flagella, and an acroneme (an). | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | incertae sedis |
| Order: | Colponemida Cavalier-Smith 1993 emend. Adl et al. 2019 |
| Groups included | |
| |
| Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Colponemids are free-living alveolates, unicellular flagellates related to dinoflagellates, apicomplexans and ciliates. They are predators of other small eukaryotes, found in freshwater, marine and soil environments. They do not form a solid clade, but a sparse group of deep-branching alveolate lineages.