Perkinsidae
Perkinsidae is a family of alveolates in the phylum Perkinsozoa, a sister group to the dinoflagellates.Members
It includes Perkinsus species, which are parasitic protozoans, some of which cause disease and mass mortality in wild and farmed molluscs such as oysters.
There are two genera:
- Parvilucifera, a genus of 3 species
- Perkinsus, a genus of 7 to 8 species
Characteristics
Perkinsidae possess plastids which do not contain DNA.