A. astronyxis (Ray & Hayes 1954) Page 1967 * (T7)
A. byersi Qvarnstrom, Nerad & Visvesvara 2013 *
A. castellanii Volkonski 1931 * (T4) [A. terricola Pussard 1964]
A. comandoni Pussard 1964 (T9)
A. culbertsoni (Singh & Das 1970) Griffin 1972 * (T10)
A. divionensis Pussard & Pons 1977 (T4)
A. echinulata Pussard & Pons 1977
A. gigantea Schmöller 1964
A. glebae (Dobell 1914)
A. gleichenii Volkonsky 1931
A. griffini Sawyer 1971 (T3)
A. hatchetti Sawyer, Visvesvara & Harke 1977 * (T11)
A. healyi Moura, Wallace & Visvesvara 1992 (T12)
A. hyalina Dobel & Oconnor 1921
A. jacobsi Sawyer, Nerad & Visvesvara 1992
A. keratitis  *
A. lenticulata Molet & Ermolieff-braun 1976 (T3)
A. lugdunensis Pussard & Pons 1977 * (T4)
A. mauritaniensis Pussard & Pons 1977 (T4)
A. micheli Corsaro et al. 2015
A. palestinensis (Reich 1933) Page 1977 * (T1)
A. paradivionensis Pussard & Pons 1977 (T4)
A. pearcei Nerad et al. 1995
A. polyphaga (Puschkarew 1913) Volkonsky 1931 * (T4)
A. pustulosa Pussard & Pons 1977 (T2)
A. pyriformis (Olive & Stoianovitch 1969) Spiegel & Shadwick 2016
A. quina Pussard & Pons 1977 *
A. rhysodes (Singh 1952) Griffin 1972 * (T4)
A. royreba Willaert, Stevens & Tyndall 1978
A. sohi Kyung-il & Shin 2003
A. stevensoni Sawyer et al. 1993 (T11)
A. triangularis Pussard & Pons 1977 (T4)
A. tubiashi Lewis & Sawyer 1979 (T8)

Etymology
From the Greek akantha (spike/thorn), which was added before "amoeba" (change) to describe this organism as having a spine-like structure (acanthopodia). This organism is now well known as Acanthamoeba, an amphizoic, opportunistic, and nonopportunistic protozoan protist widely distributed in the environment.
The exact nature of these symbionts and the benefit they represent for the amoebic host still have to be clarified. These include Legionella and Legionella-like pathogens. Giant viruses
The giant viruses Mimivirus, Megavirus, and Pandoravirus infect Acanthamoeba.Members of the genus Acanthamoeba are unusual in serving as hosts for a variety of giant viruses (that have more than 1000 protein-coding genes; for instance, Pandoravirus, which has about 2500 protein-coding genes in its genome). Diversity
Acanthamoeba can be distinguished from other genera of amoebae based on morphological characteristics. However, differentiating one species of Acanthamoeba from another by morphology has proven difficult. Based on 18S rDNA sequencing, known Acanthamoeba strains can be organized into 12 groups, denoted T1-T12. Most disease-causing isolates belong to type T4.Below is a list of described species of Acanthamoeba, with sequence types noted where known. Species that have been identified in diseased patients are marked with *.