The Rhizaria are a major line of protists. They vary considerably in form, but for the most part they are amoeboids with filose, reticulose, or microtubule-supported pseudopods. Many produce shells or skeletons, which may be quite complex in structure; these make up the vast majority of protozoan fossils. The main groups of Rhizaria are the Cercozoa, Foraminifera, and Radiolaria.
The different groups are considered close relatives based mostly on genetic similarities. They may be regarded as an extension of the Cercozoa. The name Rhizaria for the expanded group was introduced by Cavalier-Smith in 2002, who also included the centrohelids and apusomonads.
References
- Cavalier-Smith, T. (2002). The phagotrophic origin of eukaryotes and phylogenetic classification of Protozoa. International Journal of Systematic and Evoluionary Microbiology 52: 297-354.
- Sergey I. Nikolaev et al. (2004). The twilight of the Heliozoa and rise of the Rhizaria, an emerging supergroup of amoeboid eukaryotes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 8066-8071.
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