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Definition of Dinoflagellate
1. Noun. Chiefly marine protozoa having two flagella; a chief constituent of plankton.
Group relationships: Cilioflagellata, Dinoflagellata, Order Cilioflagellata, Order Dinoflagellata
Specialized synonyms: Noctiluca, Noctiluca Miliaris, Peridinian
Definition of Dinoflagellate
1. Noun. Any of many marine protozoa, of the phylum ''Dinoflagellata'', that have two flagella ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Dinoflagellate
1. [n -S]
Medical Definition of Dinoflagellate
1. Photosynthetic organisms of the order Dinoflagellida (for botanists Dinophyceae). They are aquatic and have 2 flagella lying in grooves in an often elaborately sculptured shell or pellicle that is formed from plates of cellulose deposited in membrane vesicles. The pellicle gives some dinoflagellates very bizarre shapes. Their chromosomes lack centromeres and may have little or no protein and may perhaps be intermediate between pro and eu karyote types, hence the group has been termed mesokaryotic. The nuclear membrane persists during mitosis. They are very abundant in marine plankton. Gymnodinium and Gonyaulax, that causes red tide, produce toxins that if accumulated by filter feeding molluscs can be fatal. Another common genus is Peridinium. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Dinoflagellate
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