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Apart from
Tubulina, Acanthopodina, Conopodina, and Vannellina, the Lobosea
also include three independent lineages: two of them are
monospecific (Mayorella sp. and Dermamoeba algensis),
and the third is a relatively low-supported clade grouping
Thecamoeba similis and Platyamoeba stenopodia.
Mayorella
was traditionally classified within the Conopodina sensu Bovee
(1985). It has been proposed that one species of this cuticle-bearing
amoeba, which is sometimes capable to produce dactylopodia-like
pseudopodia, may be related to Paramoeba and
Neoparamoeba (Gillevet and O’Kelly 2003), but no evidence
was published. The new species of Mayorella for which
molecular data have been published forms an independent lineage
in SSU rRNA trees (Fahrni et al. 2003).
Dermamoeba algensis
is a very distinct species. It has a unique structure of the
cell coat, an unusual mode of feeding and many other
peculiarities. Traditionally, Dermamoeba and
Thecamoeba are included in the family Thecamoebidae (Page
1987). However, both genera branch separately in the molecular
trees (Fahrni et al. 2003).
Molecular data
confirm the close relationship between Thecamoeba similis
and Platyamoeba stenopodia, and indicate that the latter
species should be transferred from the Vannellidae to the
Thecamoebidae, as suggested before based on their similar
locomotive morphology and some other features (Page and Blakey
1979; Smirnov and Goodkov 1999).
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