Excavata
Supergroup of unicellular organisms belonging to the domain Eukaryota / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Excavata is an extensive and diverse but paraphyletic group of unicellular Eukaryota.[1][2] The group was first suggested by Simpson and Patterson in 1999[3][4] and the name latinized and assigned a rank by Thomas Cavalier-Smith in 2002. It contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic protists, and includes some important parasites of humans such as Giardia and Trichomonas.[5] Excavates were formerly considered to be included in the now obsolete Protista kingdom.[6] They were distinguished from other lineages based on electron-microscopic information about how the cells are arranged (they have a distinctive ultrastructural identity).[4] They are considered to be a basal flagellate lineage.[7]
Excavata Temporal range: Neoproterozoic–present | |
---|---|
Giardia lamblia, a parasitic diplomonad | |
Scientific classification (obsolete as paraphyletic) | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
(unranked): | Excavata (Cavalier-Smith), 2002 |
Phyla and classes | |
see text |
On the basis of phylogenomic analyses, the group was shown to contain three widely separated eukaryote groups, the discobids, metamonads, and malawimonads.[8][9][10][11] A current view of the composition of the excavates is given below, indicating that the group is paraphyletic. Except for some Euglenozoa, all are non-photosynthetic.