| Frontonia | |
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| Frontonia sp., specimen is digesting cyanobacteria, the mouth (cytostome) is at the bottom right. | |
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| Genus: | Frontonia Ehrenberg, 1838
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Frontonia is a genus of free-living unicellular ciliate protists, belonging to the order Peniculida. As Peniculids, the Frontonia are closely related to members of the genus Paramecium. However, whereas Paramecia are mainly bacterivores, Frontonia are capable of ingesting large prey such as diatoms, filamentous algae, testate amoebas,[1] and even, in some circumstances, members of their own species.[2] In bacteria-rich saprobic conditions, Frontonia leucas can live as a facultative bacterivore.[3]
Frontonia are widely dispersed, and members of the genus can be found in marine and freshwater environments on every continent.[4][5]
- ^ Dias, Roberto Júnio P.; D'Agosto, Marta (September 2006). "Feeding behavior of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg) (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida) under different environmental conditions in a lotic system". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 23 (3): 758–763. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752006000300021.
- ^ Devi, R. Vimala (August 1964). "Cannibalism in Frontonia leucas Ehr". The Journal of Protozoology. 11 (3): 304–307. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1964.tb01758.x.
- ^ Dias, Roberto Júnio P.; D'Agosto, Marta (September 2006). "Feeding behavior of Frontonia leucas (Ehrenberg) (Protozoa, Ciliophora, Hymenostomatida) under different environmental conditions in a lotic system". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 23 (3): 758–763. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752006000300021.
- ^ Petz, Wolfgang; Valbonesi, Alessandro; Schiftner, Uwe; Quesada, Antonio; Cynan Ellis-Evans, J. (2007). "Ciliate biogeography in Antarctic and Arctic freshwater ecosystems: Endemism or global distribution of species?". FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 59 (2): 396–408. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00259.x. PMID 17313584. S2CID 13117002.
- ^ Long, Hongan; Song, Weibo; Al-Rasheid, Khaled A. S.; Wang, Yangang; Yi, Zhenzhen; Al-Quraishy, Saleh A.; Lin, Xiaofeng; Al-Farraj, Saleh A. (23 January 2008). "Taxonomic studies on three marine species of Frontonia from northern China: F. didieri n. sp., F. multinucleata n. sp. and F. tchibisovae Burkovsky, 1970 (Ciliophora: Peniculida)". Zootaxa. 1687 (1): 35. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1687.1.2.