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Arcellinida

Order of Amoebozoa

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Arcellinid testate amoebae are commonly found in soils, leaf litter, peat bogs and near/in fresh water. They use their pseudopodia, a temporary cell extension, for moving and taking in food. Like most amoebae, they are generally believed to reproduce asexually via binary fission. However a recent review suggests that sexual recombination may be the rule rather than the exception in amoeboid protists in general, including the Arcellinid testate amoebae.

Morphology

Arcellinida always have a shell or test. The tests lie outside the cell membrane and consist of organic or mineral materials that are either secreted or incorporate external particles. The test has a single main opening.

Simple tests are made by secretion (autogenous tests), agglutination of foreign material (xenogenous tests), or sometimes a combination of both. Past environmental changes can be determined by analysing the composition of fossil tests, including the reconstruction of past climate change. Testate amoebae species have been used to reconstruct hydrological changes over the late Holocene, as a result of individual species possessing a narrow tolerance for ecohydrological conditions such as water-table depth or pH.

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GenusTaxonomic rank above species and below familyFamily (taxonomy)Taxonomic rank between genus and orderEndemismState of species being unique to a locationCladeGroup of a common ancestor and all of their descendantsGenomeAll genetic material of an organismOrder (taxonomy)Taxonomic rank between class and family