The Syndiniales are an order of early branching dinoflagellates (also known as Marine Alveolates, "MALVs"), found as parasites of crustaceans, fish, algae, cnidarians, and protists (ciliates, radiolarians, other dinoflagellates).[1][2][3] The trophic form is often multinucleate, and ultimately divides to form motile spores, which have two flagella in typical dinoflagellate arrangement. They lack a theca and chloroplasts, and unlike all other orders, the nucleus is never a dinokaryon. A well-studied example is Amoebophrya, which is a parasite of other dinoflagellates and may play a part in ending red tides. Several MALV groups have been assigned to Syndiniales;[4] recent studies, however, show paraphyly of MALVs suggesting that only those groups that branch as sister to dinokaryotes ('core dinoflagellates') belong to Syndiniales.[3]
Syndiniales | |
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Class: | Syndiniophyceae
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Order: | Syndiniales Loeblich III, 1976
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