Protostelium
Genus of slime molds
Protostelium is a genus of protosteloid amoebozoans, i.e., amoebae capable of forming simple fruiting bodies composed of a stalk and a ball of spores. It contains numerous species, including P. aurantium, which was initially classified in a different genus Planoprotostelium. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that Planoprotostelium branches from within the genus Protostelium, making them synonyms.
The genus is placed in the family Protosteliidae within the monotypic order Protosteliida, which is part of a larger group of amoebozoans known as Variosea.
01Classification
Many species from the genus Protostelium have been transferred over time to other protosteloid genera. The following species remain:
- Protostelium apiculatum Shadwick & Spiegel 2017
- Protostelium aurantium (Olive & Stoianovitch 1971) Shadwick & Spiegel 2017 (=Planoprotostelium aurantium Olive & Stoianovitch 1971)
- Protostelium mycophaga Olive & Stoianovitch 1960
- Protostelium nocturnum Spiegel 1984
- Protostelium okumukumu Spiegel, Shadwick & Hemmes 2006
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Protostelium”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Protostelium mycophaga fruiting body.jpg by George Ndiritu, Public domain
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