Description of Colpodella

Colpodellid apicomplexa, Colpodella pugnax is the type species of Colpodella; with seven distinguishable species (Simpson & Patterson, 1996) all of which have two flagella and are under 25 µm long; flagella insert opposed/ orthogonally in small pockets or grooves at the base of an anterior rostrum; rostrum attaches to prey cells and cytoplasm is drawn into the Colpodella; fed cells may form cysts in which the cells divide into two or four daughter cells. Notable ultrastructural features include: tubular/ vesicular mitochondrial cristae, cortical alveoli underlain by longitudinal microtubules subtending the outer plasma membrane, and micropores.