How Often Do You Feed Your Puffer? in the Puffers forums, part of the Freshwater Fish Forums category. Hello, I have a new Figure 8 Puffer.
apÂ·iÂ·comÂ·plexÂ·an. n. Any of a phylum (Apicomplexa) of protozoans that have a group of organelles and other structures located in the apical end of the cell. Apicomplexans are parasitic in animals and include the organisms that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis.
However, many of the protists in the old Sporozoa share certain structural features, in particular an apical complex of microtubules within the cell. These protists have now been grouped in the Apicomplexa, probably the largest and best-known taxon of parasitic protists. There are about 4,000 known species, but this is almost certainly a gross underestimate of the actual number. There are no known fossil apicomplexans. However, the group is a very important part of the living biota. Apicomplexans infect both invertebrates and vertebrates; they may be relatively benign or may cause serious illnesses.