Living Beings
    Source-identified Euglena gracilis; Source-identified documentary image; see the original file for method and context. Framed for display
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    Field guide · species

    Euglena gracilis

    Klebs, 1883

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    The authority credits the formal scientific description of the name. A year records publication of that description.

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    EuglenophyceaeEuglenalesEuglenaceae

    Euglena gracilis combines green chloroplasts with active movement and flexible nutrition. It is a single-celled eukaryote, and its biology does not fit a simple division in which every mobile organism is an animal and every green organism is a plant.

    Public research profile · final editorial review pending.

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    Tree of lifeScientific lineage
    1. LifeLife
    2. DomainEukaryota
    3. PhylumEuglenozoa
    4. ClassEuglenophyceae
    5. OrderEuglenales
    6. FamilyEuglenaceae
    7. GenusEuglena
    8. SpeciesEuglena gracilis
    Advanced classification

    Complete source lineage, including intermediate ranks. The standard view uses Life and the eight principal ranks.

    1. cellular organisms cellular root
    2. Eukaryota domain
    3. Discoba clade
    4. Euglenozoa phylum
    5. Euglenida clade
    6. Spirocuta clade
    7. Euglenophyceae class
    8. Euglenales order
    9. Euglenaceae family
    10. Euglena genus
    11. Euglena gracilis species
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    Structure and identification

    Elongated cells have a flexible covering, chloroplasts and a flagellum used in movement. The outline can change during characteristic euglenoid motion.

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    Habitat and range

    Freshwater and resource-rich aquatic conditions support studied populations and cultures.

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    Nutrition and metabolism

    Photosynthesis supplies carbon under suitable light, while organic substrates can support heterotrophic growth under other conditions.

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    Biological activity

    Light-responsive movement and changes in body form connect environmental sensing with locomotion.

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    Reproduction and life cycle

    Cells reproduce through division. Growth form and physiology change with culture conditions without representing separate species.

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    Geographic distribution

    Cultures are studied internationally. Field records require species identification rather than recognition of a generic green flagellate.

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    Ecological role

    Its flexible resource use connects photosynthetic production with consumption of organic compounds.

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    Distinctive adaptations

    Its plastids descend from a green alga acquired through secondary endosymbiosis. A mixotrophic lifestyle and metabolic flexibility permit growth under varied conditions. Those features make it an informative example of eukaryotic evolution: photosynthesis does not require that a single-celled organism be placed among land plants.

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    Evidence

    Sources

    Connected life

    No reviewed ecological connections in the collection yet.

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