| definition |
- Ciliates are members of the phylum Ciliophora. As their name implies,
ciliates use numerous cilia as locomotor organelles. The ciliates exhibit the greatest elaboration of subcellular organelles of any protozoan group,
where, for example, the Paramecium has a special oral groove and cytopharynx, into which indigestible wastes are expelled from food vacuoles.
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| Abstract from DBPedia | The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a different undulating pattern than flagella. Cilia occur in all members of the group (although the peculiar Suctoria only have them for part of their life cycle) and are variously used in swimming, crawling, attachment, feeding, and sensation. Ciliates are an important group of protists, common almost anywhere there is water—in lakes, ponds, oceans, rivers, and soils. About 4,500 unique free-living species have been described, and the potential number of extant species is estimated at 27,000–40,000. Included in this number are many ectosymbiotic and endosymbiotic species, as well as some obligate and opportunistic parasites. Ciliate species range in size from as little as 10 µm in some colpodeans to as much as 4 mm in length in some geleiids, and include some of the most morphologically complex protozoans. In most systems of taxonomy, "Ciliophora" is ranked as a phylum under any of several kingdoms, including Chromista, Protista or Protozoa. In some older systems of classification, such as the influential taxonomic works of Alfred Kahl, ciliated protozoa are placed within the class "Ciliata" (a term which can also refer to a genus of fish). In the taxonomic scheme endorsed by the , which eliminates formal rank designations such as "phylum" and "class", "Ciliophora" is an unranked taxon within Alveolata.繊毛虫（せんもうちゅう）とは、動物的単細胞生物の一群である。全身に繊毛という毛を持ち、これを使って移動する。ゾウリムシやラッパムシ、ツリガネムシ、テトラヒメナなどが含まれる。 二界説が唱えられていた時代には動物界原生動物門繊毛虫綱に位置づけられていたが、五界説では原生生物界の中で繊毛虫門という独立した門の扱いを受ける場合が多い。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Ciliate) |
