Describe briefly the four major groups of Protozoa.
Explanation Protozoans are eukaryotic organisms and follow the heterotrophic mode of nutrition. They are mainly divided into the following four groups:- Amoeboid protozoans: They donot have a well defined shape and can be of any shape. They ingest their food with the help of projections known as pseudopodia. They form these pseudopodia or false feet by changing their shape in the form of finger like projections. Eg. Amoeba. Flagellated protozoans: They have flagella present on their body which are hair like structures. They can be one or more than one in number in different protozoans. These flagella help in the movement of cell and sensing the nearby environment. This group has both free living and parasitic forms. Eg. Volvox. Ciliated protozoans: They have numerous hair like structures called cilia which assist them in movement and help in ingestion of food into the cell cavity called gullet. Eg. Paramoecium Sporozoans: They got their name due to the presence of an infectious spore like stage in their life cycle. A stage similar to sporophytic stage can be observed in their lifecycle. Eg. Plasmodium.Final Answer Protozoans are eukaryotic heterotrophic organisms which fall under the kingdom protista. They can be majorly divided into four groups namely amoeboid protozoans, flagellated protozoans, ciliated protozoans and sporozoans. Amoeboid protozoans doesn't have a well defined shapde and capture their food using pseudopodia. Flgellated protozoans are named so because of the presence of flagella on their body which are used for locomotion. Ciliated protozoans move in water with the help of numerous cilia. They also ingest their food using cilia. Sporozoans have a spore like stage in their lifetime which is said to be infectious. Thus, they are disease causing protozoans.
