Re: What is a Pelomyxa?

Pelomyxa is a genus within Pelobionta containing several species of amoebae (amebas). Pelomyxa are classified as "basal eukaryotes", because they lack the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticula, and Golgi Complexes common to the higher eukaryotes like animals, plants, and fungi. Unlike the more common Amoeba proteus, members of Pelomyxa, like Pelomyxa carolinensis(formerly Chaos chaos), contain multiple nuclei per cell, so that the rare cell division (cytokinesis) does not coincide with the ongoing nuclear division (karyokinesis). (This accumulation of multiple nuclei in a single massive cell is a common trait of the slime molds and true fungi.) This multinucleate lifestyle allows Pelomyxans to grow to macroscopic (visible to the human eye) size.