What are Xenophyophores?
Xenophyophores are protozoans that live in the deepest parts of the ocean. Despite having been discovered around the turn of the 20th century, little is known about these single-celled organisms,largely because they are delicate and easily damaged when collected, easily mistaken for other organic and non-organic matter, and also because research in the deepest parts of the ocean remains difficult. Still, much interest surrounds these single-celled organisms partly because they are one of the largest single-celled organisms found in nature. While their size varies and some have been found to be as small as 2 mm (0.06 in) wide, one species, the Syringammina fragillissima, has been reported to be as wide as 20 cm (8 in). Their overall shape varies as well. They can have frilly edges which resemble the Golgi apparatus within the eukaryotic cell or they may have a spherical sponge shape. Some are flat and others are four-sided tetrahedra. Instead of blood, xenophyophores are filled with cyt
Xenophyophores are mysterious, poorly-understood marine protozoans that cover the abyssal plains of the deep ocean. They are gigantic single-celled organisms, among the largest in nature, with one species, Syringammina fragillissima topping out at 20 cm (8 in) in diameter. They are of variable appearance, including frilly shapes that resemble the Golgi apparatus within the eukaryotic cell, spherical sponge shaped, and even four-sided (tetrahedal) forms. Xenophyophores are benthic bottom feeders, meaning they are found only in the very deep ocean. Instead of blood, xenophyophores are filled with cytoplasm, the intracellular fluid, and numerous nuclei which contain its genetic material. The entire ensemble is enclosed within an organic cement-like structure called a granellare. Xenophyophores move along the sea bottom like slugs, filtering sand for nutritious particles and tiny animals — including nematodes, which are abundant on the abyssal plain — using a slimy excretion. Like amoeba
