1. Kingdom: Protista.
2. They are known as acellular or non-cellular organism. A protozoan body consists of only mass of protoplasm, so they are called acellular or non-cellular animals.
3. Habitat: mostly aquatic, either free living or parasitic or commensal
4. Grade of organization: protoplasmic grade of organization. Single cell performs all the vital activities thus the single cell acts like a whole body.
5. Body of protozoa is either naked or covered by a pellicle.
6. Locomotion: Locomotory organ are pseudopodia (false foot) or cilia or absent.
7. Nutrition: Nutrition are holophytic (like plant) or holozoic (like animal) or saprophytic or parasitic.
8. Digestion: digestion is intracellular, occurs in food vacuoles.
9. Respiration: through the body surface.
10. Osmoregulation: Contractile vacuoles helps in osmoregulation.
11. Reproduction:

• Asexually reproduction is through binary fission or budding.
• Sexual reproduction is by syngamy conjugation.

Classification of Protozoa:

• Phylum protozoa is classified into four classes on the basis of locomotary organs

Class 1 Rhizopoda

• Locomotary organ:
• Mostly free living, some are parasitic
• Reproduction: asexually by binary fission and sexually by syngamy.
• No conjugation.
• Examples: Amoeba, Entamoeba

Class 2 Mastigophora/ Flagellata

• Locomotory organ: Flagella
• Free living or parasite.
• Body covered with cellulose, chitin or silica.
• Reproduction: A sexual reproduction by longitudinal fission.
• No conjugation.
• Examples: Giardia, Euglena, Trypanosoma

Class 3 Sporozoa

• Locomotory organ: Absent
• Exclusively endoparasites
• Contractile vacuoles is absent
• Body covered with pellicle.
• Reproduction: Asexual reproduction by fission and Sexual reproduction by spores
• Examples: Plasmodium, Monocystis

Class 4 Ciliata

• locomotary organ: Cillia
• Body covered by pellicle.
• Reproduction: Asexual reproduction by binary fission. Sexual reproduction by conjugation.
• Nuclei two types i.e. macronucleus and micronucleus.
• Examples: Paramecium, Voricella, Blantidium

Phylum Protozoa: General characteristic and classification

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