Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Scotokaryotes

The Scotokaryotes is a proposed basal eukaryote clade sister to Diaphoretickes. Likely Scotokaryote groupings include the Metamonads, the Malawimonas and the Podiata. The name comes from the Greek word scotos (dark) due to the complete absence of photosynthetic organisms in this clade, contrasting with Diaphoretickes and Excavata.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
481 w
Citations
9
Source
Scotokaryotes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Neokaryotes
(unranked): Scotokaryotes
Cavalier-Smith, 1999
Clades
Synonyms
  • Opimoda Derelle et al., 20151

The Scotokaryotes is a proposed basal eukaryote clade sister to Diaphoretickes.2 Likely Scotokaryote groupings include the Metamonads, the Malawimonas and the Podiata.34 The name comes from the Greek word scotos (dark) due to the complete absence of photosynthetic organisms in this clade, contrasting with Diaphoretickes and Excavata.2

An alternative to the UnikontBikont division was suggested by Derelle et al. in 2015,1 where they proposed the acronyms Opimoda–Diphoda respectively, as substitutes to the older terms (Opimoda includes the old 'unikonts', plus some former bikonts; Diphoda includes most of the old 'bikonts', but not all). The name Opimoda is formed from the letters (shown in capitals) of OPIsthokonta and aMOebozoa.

Sarcomastigota Cavalier-Smith, 1983 is a proposed subkingdom (currently shown to be paraphyletic) that includes all members of Opimoda that are not animals or fungi.5 Sulcozoa Cavalier-Smith, 2012 is a proposed phylum (currently shown to be paraphyletic) within Sarcomastigota that does not include the phyla Amoebozoa (clade) and Choanozoa (paraphyletic), i.e. it includes the proposed subphyla Apusozoa and Varisulca.6

Phylogeny

A proposed cladogram is7


See also

See also

References

References

  1. Derelle, Romain; Torruella, Guifré; Klimeš, Vladimír; Brinkmann, Henner; Kim, Eunsoo; Vlček, Čestmír; Lang, B. Franz; Eliáš, Marek (17 February 2015). "Bacterial proteins pinpoint a single eukaryotic root". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (7): E693–E699. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112E.693D. doi:10.1073/pnas.1420657112. PMC 4343179. PMID 25646484.
  2. Cavalier-Smith, Thomas; Chao, Ema E.; Lewis, Rhodri (December 2015). "Multiple origins of Heliozoa from flagellate ancestors: New cryptist subphylum Corbihelia, superclass Corbistoma, and monophyly of Haptista, Cryptista, Hacrobia and Chromista". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 93: 357. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.07.004.
  3. Cavalier-Smith, Thomas (2013-05-01). "Early evolution of eukaryote feeding modes, cell structural diversity, and classification of the protozoan phyla Loukozoa, Sulcozoa, and Choanozoa". European Journal of Protistology. 49 (2): 115–178. doi:10.1016/j.ejop.2012.06.001. PMID 23085100.
  4. Cavalier-Smith, Thomas (2017). "Euglenoid pellicle morphogenesis and evolution in light of comparative ultrastructure and trypanosomatid biology: semi-conservative microtubule/strip duplication, strip shaping and transformation". European Journal of Protistology. 61 (Pt A): 137–179. doi:10.1016/j.ejop.2017.09.002. PMID 29073503.
  5. Ruggiero, Michael A.; Gordon, Dennis P.; Orrell, Thomas M.; Bailly, Nicolas; Bourgoin, Thierry; Brusca, Richard C.; Cavalier-Smith, Thomas; Guiry, Michael D.; Kirk, Paul M. (2015-06-11). "Correction: A Higher Level Classification of All Living Organisms". PLOS ONE. 10 (6) e0130114. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1030114R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130114. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5159126. PMID 26068874.
  6. Ruggiero, Michael A.; Gordon, Dennis P.; Orrell, Thomas M.; Bailly, Nicolas; Bourgoin, Thierry; Brusca, Richard C.; Cavalier-Smith, Thomas; Guiry, Michael D.; Kirk, Paul M. (2015-04-29). "A Higher Level Classification of All Living Organisms". PLOS ONE. 10 (4) e0119248. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019248R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119248. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4418965. PMID 25923521..
  7. Torruella, Guifré; Galindo, Luis Javier; Moreira, David; López-García, Purificación (2025). "Phylogenomics of neglected flagellated protists supports a revised eukaryotic tree of life". Current Biology. 35 (1): 198–207.e4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.075. hdl:10481/102343. ISSN 0960-9822.