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[[Image:mystacina_2.jpg|frame|right|''Metacineta mystacina''. [http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Images/Ciliophora/Metacineta/mystacina_2.html Protist Information Server.]]]


<h2>Classification</H2><h3>Higher order taxa:</h3> Eukaryota; Alveolata; [[Ciliophora]]; Phyllopharyngea

<h3>Species:</h3>

''Discophyra collini''<br />''Tokophyra lemnarum''<br />''Heliophyra erhardi ''

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'''NCBI: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Tree&id=39462&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock Taxonomy] Genome '''
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<h2>Description and Significance</h2> Suctoria is one subclass of the class Phyllopharyngea. Although part of the phylum [[Ciliophora]], Suctoria are perhaps most well-known as highly unusual members of this classification. Origianally, they were not thought to be ciliates, because they lack cilia at certain stages of life. In addition, Suctoria reproduction is atypical of most ciliates. Only at the larval stage do Suctoria bear much resemblance to other members of Ciliophora. <h2>Genome Structure</h2> Currently, there is not an extensive body of research on the genome structure of Suctoria. 

<h2>Cell Structure and Metabolism</h2>
[[Image:acit16.jpg|frame|left|''Bugula sp''. budding. The pale organisms are the ciliated swarmers.[http://www.nies.go.jp/biology/mcc/strainlist_a.htm Anabaena [http://www.microscopy-uk.net/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.net/mag/artmar03/jmcsuctoria2.html Photo by Jean-Marie Cavanihac ]]]
The ciliature of Suctoria is reduced in comparison to other ciliate organisms, so much so that they actually lack cilia in the adult stage of life. Instead, they have tentacles. Young swarmers have two rings of cilia. Scutoria are also grouped in [[Ciliophora]] because they are multinucleated. Once they shed their cilia, Suctoria become sessile; they attach themseleves to host organisms via a non-contractile stalk and develop tentacles. Suctoria are encased in a hard shell called the lorica. Another important characteristic of Suctoria is that they lack oral cavities. They use their tentacles as feeding mechanisms.

Suctoria are heterotrophs that feed on smaller ciliates. The tentacles are used both to capture prey and to suck nutrients out of them.

Scutoria reproduce by budding. Larvae form either at the top of the organism or in a brood chamber within the cell. A ciliated swarmer emerges from the tentacled adult; this resembles live birth found in mammals. Occasionally, Suctoria will reproduce by binary fission, but this is rare.

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<h2>Ecology</h2>Suctoria are aquatic organisms, found most commonly in freshwater habitats. Some marine species form symbiotic relationships with crustaceans. For example, the Suctoria ''Flectacineta isopodensis ''is an epibiont of ''Excirolana chiltoni''. Another Suctoria that forms such relationships is ''Ophryodendron mysidacii'', an epibiont with the crustacean ''Schistomysis parkeri''. ''Ophryodendron mysidacii'' can be found on different parts of the ''Schistomysis parkeri'' body, depending on what phase of the life cycle it is in. During the adult stage, ''Ophryodendron mysidacii'' can be found on uropods, abdominal segments, and eyes. At less mature stages, this organism is more likely to be found on the eyes and the basal area of antennae. However, Suctoria do not just form relationships with crustaceans. The species ''Ephelota'' ''gemmipara'' and ''Ephelota'' ''gigantea'' are epibionts of ''Lepeophtheirus salmonis ''(salmon louse), which is a parasite of Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'').

[[Image:tokophrya002.jpg|thumb|450px|center|''Tokophyra sp.''[http://www.gpmatthews.nildram.co.uk/microscopes/pondlife_protozoa02.html Photo by Graham Matthews.]]]


<h2>References. Updated June 22, 2005</h2>
[http://www.microscopy-uk.net/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.net/mag/artmar03/jmcsuctoria2.html Cavanihac, Jean-Marie. "Suctoria." ''Micscape Magazine''. March 2003. Accessed 21 June 2005. ]

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1920147&query_hl=22 Esteban F, Tellez C, Munoz A. <font size="3">"Infraciliature, morphogenesis and life cycle of Endosphaera terebrans (Suctoria, Tokophridae).</font>" <span title="The Journal of protozoology.">J Protozool.</span> 1991 Sep-Oct;38(5):483-8.]

[http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=a1b5473cef474d928f220de40cb48b6d&referrer=parent&backto=issue,1,4;journal,17,125;linkingpublicationresults,1:102470,1 Fernandez-Leborans, Gregorio, Mark Freeman, Regina Gabilondo, and Christina Sommerville. "Marine protozoan epibionts on the copepod Lepeophtheirus salmonis, parasite of the Atlantic salmon." ''Journal of Natural History ''February 2005;39(8):587 - 596.]

[http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?wasp=cb5f7218529a488b96e3b6e629b1b3f0&referrer=parent&backto=issue,1,7;journal,85,125;linkingpublicationresults,1:102470,1 Fernandez-Leborans, Gregorio and Maria Luisa Tato-Porto. "Distribution of the protozoan epibiont Ophryodendron mysidacii<br /> (Ciliophora, Suctoria) on the mysid Schistomysis parkeri (Crustacea)." ''Journal of Natural History'', 2002, 36, 505–513. ]

[http://www.nencki.gov.pl/pdf/ap/ap609.pdf Fernandez-Leborans, Gregorio, Yukio Hanamura, and Keizo Nagasaki. "A New Suctorian, Flectacineta isopodensis (Protozoa: Ciliophora) Epibiont on Marine Isopods from Hokkaido (Northern Japan)." Acta Protozool. (2002) 41: 79 - 84.]

[http://www.gpmatthews.nildram.co.uk/microscopes/pondlife_protozoa02.html Matthews, Graham. "Pond Life: Protozoa. Part II: Ciliates." Accessed 22 June 2005. ]

[http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/protis/cili/suct0100.htm Micrographia. "Suctoria." Accessed 21 June 2005. ]

[http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Images/Ciliophora/Metacineta/mystacina_2.html Protist Information Server. ]

[http://www.jcb.org/cgi/reprint/84/1/172 Rudzinska, Maria A. "Internalization of Macromolecules from the Medium in Suctoria." ''J . Celt. Biology''. 1980 Jan;84(1):172-83.]

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15352327&query_hl=22 Snoeyenbos-West OL, Cole J, Campbell A, Coats DW, Katz LA. <font size="3">"Molecular phylogeny of phyllopharyngean ciliates and their group I introns.</font>" <span title="The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology.">J Eukaryot Microbiol.</span> 2004 Jul-Aug;51(4):441-50.]<br />