Euplotes

Phylum:Ciliophora

Class:Spirotrichea

Order:Euplotida

Family:Euplotidae

Genus:Euplotes

 

Euplotes is a genus of ciliates in the subclass Euplotia. Species are widely distributed in marine and freshwater environments, as well as soil and moss. Most members of the genus are free-living, but two species have been recorded as commensal organisms in the digestive tracts of sea urchins.

 

This genus is characterized by rows of fused cilia called cirri running along the ventral (bottom) surface. A freshwater inhabitant, Euplotes uses its cirri for swimming and also to “walk” along a substrate.

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