Skip to content
Phacus
EntityQ144584· pop 13· linked from 90 articles

Phacus is a genus of unicellular euglenoids, of the phylum Euglenozoa (also known as Euglenophyta), characterized by its flat, leaf-shaped structure, and rigid cytoskeleton known as a pellicle. These eukaryotes are mostly green in colour, and have a single flagellum that extends the length of their body. They are morphologically very flat, rigid, leaf-shaped, and contain many small discoid chloroplasts.

Species

GENUS

  1. KingdomProtozoa
  2. PhylumEuglenozoa
  3. ClassEuglenoidea
  4. OrderEuglenida
  5. FamilyPhacidae
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Observations recorded21,274

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
23
With media
2
Family
Phacidae
Collections
CCBA-FMVZ-UADY, US, IPA/SP, NHMUK, UTEX, NY
Recorded in
Mexico, United States, Brasil, Australia, United Kingdom

~16 min read

Encyclopedic overview

15 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • History of knowledge
  • Habitat and ecology
  • Feeding
  • Description
  • Morphology
  • Differences in morphology
  • Life cycle
  • Genetics
  • Evolution
  • Phylogeny
  • Fossil history
  • Practical importance
  • References
  • Further reading

Phacus is a genus of unicellular euglenoids, of the phylum Euglenozoa (also known as Euglenophyta), characterized by its flat, leaf-shaped structure, and rigid cytoskeleton known as a pellicle. These eukaryotes are mostly green in colour, and have a single flagellum that extends the length of their body. They are morphologically very flat, rigid, leaf-shaped, and contain many small discoid chloroplasts.

Phacus are commonly found in freshwater habitats around the globe and include several hundred species that continue to be discovered to this day. There are 564 species of Phacus in the database, but only 171 have been accepted taxonomically. It is a large and complex genus, with ongoing species revisions continuing to the present.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Phacus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)