Description of Hexamita

Hexamatine diplomonad flagellates, oval or pyriform cell body (6-35µm), truncated or tapered posteriorly, bearing 6 anterior locomotory flagella and 2 posterior trailing ones; 2 rounded nuclei closely apposed each other at the anterior end; recurrent flagella traverse the cell to emerge posteriorly as trailing flagella and lie in longitudinal canals which open posteriorly forming 2 apertures which are the cytostomes of the cell; many species live in freshwater and saltwater rich in organic matter and bacteria, preferring low oxygen sites; form cysts; parasitic species occur in insects, in oysters, in salmonid fishes, in the cloaca of reptiles, in the coecum of rodents, in monkeys H. pitheci etc. but parasitic Hexamita species and Spironucleus species are difficult to distinguish.