science

Ichthyosporea

Ichthyosporea is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ichthyosporea rather than just read about it. In short: The Ichthyosporea (or DRIP clade, or Mesomycetozoea) are a small group of Opisthokonta in Eukaryota (formerly protists), mostly parasites of fish and other animals. Significance They are not particularly distinctive morphologically, appearing in host tissues as enlarged spheres or ovals containing spores, and most were originally classified in various groups as fungi, protozoa, or colorless algae.

Key takeaways

Ichthyosporea belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ichthyosporea to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ichthyosporea from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Ichthyosporea (or DRIP clade, or Mesomycetozoea) are a small group of Opisthokonta in Eukaryota (formerly protists), mostly parasites of fish and other animals.

Significance They are not particularly distinctive morphologically, appearing in host tissues as enlarged spheres or ovals containing spores, and most were originally classified in various groups as fungi, protozoa, or colorless algae. However, they form a coherent group on molecular trees, closely related to both animals and fungi and so of interest to biologists studying their origins. In a 2008 study they emerge robustly as the sibling-group of the clade Filozoa, which includes the animals. Huldtgren et al., following x-ray tomography of microfossils of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, has interpreted them as mesomycetozoan spore capsules.

Terminology The name DRIP is an acronym for the first protozoa identified as members of the group, Cavalier-Smith later treated them as the class Ichthyosporea, since they were all parasites of fish.

order Dermocystida "D": Dermocystidium. One species, Rhinosporidium seeberi, infects birds and mammals, including humans. "R": the "rosette agent", now known as Sphaerothecum destruens order Ichthyophonida "I": Ichthyophonus "P": Psorospermium Since other new members have been added (e.g. the former fungal orders Eccrinales and Amoebidiales), Mendoza et al. suggested changing the name to Mesomycetozoea, which refers to their evolutionary position. On Eukaryota tree, in Opisthokont clade, Mesomycetozoea is in the middle ("Meso-") of the fungi ("-myceto-") and the animals ("-zoea"). The name Mesomycetozoa (without a third e) is also used to refer to this group, but Mendoza et al. use it as an alternate name for basal Opisthokonts.

Phylogeny

Taxonomy Class Ichthyosporea Cavalier-Smith 1998 Order Dermocystida Cavalier-Smith 1998 Family Rhinosporidiaceae Mendoza et al. 2001 Order Ichthyophonida Cavalier-Smith 1998 Suborder Sphaeroformina Cavalier-Smith 2012 Family Creolimacidae Cavalier-Smith 2012 Family Psorospermidae Cavalier-Smith 2012 Family Piridae Cavalier-Smith 2012 Suborder Trichomycina Cavalier-Smith 2012 Genus †Paleocadus Poinar 2016 Family Amoebidiidae Lichtenstein 1917 ex Kirk et al. 2001 Family Ichthyophonidae Cavalier-Smith 2012 Family Paramoebidiidae Reynolds et al. 2017 Family Parataeniellaceae Manier & Lichtward 1968 Family Eccrinaceae Leger & Duboscq 1929 [Palavasciaceae Manier & Lichtward 1968]

References

"Eccrinida". Species Fungorum. 2016.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ichthyosporea

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ichthyosporea claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ichthyosporea before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ichthyosporea ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ichthyosporea

In research: Ichthyosporea appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ichthyosporea in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ichthyosporea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ichthyosporea, Opisthokont classes, Parasites of fish, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ichthyosporea outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ichthyosporea in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ichthyosporea means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ichthyosporea out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ichthyosporea in simple terms?

The Ichthyosporea (or DRIP clade, or Mesomycetozoea) are a small group of Opisthokonta in Eukaryota (formerly protists), mostly parasites of fish and other animals. Significance They are not particularly distinctive morphologically, appearing in host tissues as enlarged spheres or ovals containing…

Why does Ichthyosporea matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ichthyosporea?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ichthyosporea.