Question

why is euglena called as 'dual organism'?

Answer 1

Euglena is a point of debate among researchers about how it has evolved. Euglena possesses characters like both plants and animals. They have the capability to synthesize food in the presence of sunlight because they possess chloroplast (plant like nutrition) whereas in dark they obtain food by absorbing them from surrounding water (feeding like animals). So, they possess mixotrophic mode of nutrition.

Also Euglena possesses a flagellum for locomotion like animals. For these reasons Euglena is considered as a ‘dual organism’.