Description of Euglenida
provided by BioPedia
Euglenozoa with a plicate cortex, a cortex formed by interlocking and sometimes fused proteinaceous plates running from the anterior of the cell to the posterior; cosmopolitan group of green or colourless, free-living or parasitic, freshwater or marine flagellates; elongate, spherical, ovoid, fusiform, cork-screwed or leaf-like, varying in length from 15µm to 500µm (or more); most genera are flagellated and motile but a few are sessile, including the colonial Colacium; total number of valid euglenoid species is probably about 1000.