Question

What are protozoa?

Answer 1

Protozoa:

1. These are unicellular, eukaryotic and heterotrophic entities.
2. They are either free-living or parasitic in nature
3. . There are thousands of protozoans categorized in different groups.
4. They lack cell wall.
5. Habitat: Protozoa are found in the aquatic environment. They live either in freshwater or oceans.
6. Size and Shape: The shape and size of Protozoa vary greatly, from microbial (1µm) to large enough to be seen by the naked eye.
7. Nutrition: Protozoa are heterotrophic in nature and have holozoic mode of nutrition.
8. Locomotion: Most of the species of protozoa bear appendages such as flagella, cilia or pseudopodia.
9. Reproduction: They reproduce asexually by binary fission, transverse fission or budding.