Malawimonadida

Malawimonads (order Malawimonadida) are a small group of microorganisms with a basal position in the evolutionary tree of eukaryotes, containing only three recognized species. They are considered part of a paraphyletic group known as "Excavata".

==Evolution== It is clear that the malawimonads are a monophyletic clade at the base of Eukaryota, but there is no consensus on the specific relationships between other basal groups, such as Discoba, Metamonada, Ancyromonadida and Podiata. The sister group to Malawimonadida varies greatly between analyses. Some phylogenetic analyses find Malawimonadida as the sister group to Podiata. Other analyses recover Malawimonadida as the sister group of Discoba or Metamonada. Very few modern analyses recover the three clades, Malawimonadida, Discoba and Metamonada, as a monophyletic Excavata.