Introduction

Amastigomonas (also called Thecamonas (Larsen and Patterson, 1990)) is a very widespread and common genus. The genus has been reported from around the world, most records are from marine habitats, but it has also been reported from soils and freshwaters. The organism glides on the substrate with its anterior flagellum moving slightly. The genus eats bacteria, and food is ingested using pseudopodia that are produced by the ventral surface.

Twelve nominal species have been assigned to this genus, but a number of these are barely distinguishable and have been rendered into synonymy. The most detailed survey of the genus is that of Molina and Nerad (1991), and the most recent comments are those of Lee and Patterson (2000).