Thecofilosea

Thecofilosea is a class of unicellular testate amoebae belonging to the phylum Cercozoa. They are amoeboflagellates, organisms with flagella and pseudopodia, distinguished from other cercozoa by their scale-lacking test composed of organic material. They are closely related to the Imbricatea, a group of testate amoebae with tests composed of inorganic silica scales.

==Cell structure== Thecofilosean organisms evolved from an ancestor with a robust extracellular theca made of organic material, unlike most other Cercozoa, which are usually naked or have inorganic silica scales. They present thin pseudopodia (filopodia) that emerge from a ventral groove. They also have two flagella which have been secondarily lost in Rhizaspidae and the tectofilosid amoebae, and are restricted to zoospores within the phaeodarian amoebae. They ancestrally glide on their posterior flagellum only and have a benthic distribution, but many lineages have evolved as planktonic swimmers, like the Ebriacea which have lost their pseudopodia.