Stichotrich

The stichotrichs are a group of ciliate protozoa, included among the spirotrichs. Like the hypotrichs, with which they were originally classified, they have body cilia fused into cirri, but these are mostly arranged into rows, running along the ventral surface or edges of the cell. Most stichotrichs are flattened and reasonably flexible. Stylonychia and Oxytricha are representative genera. Some evidence suggests that the hypotrichs may be paraphyletic to them, and that they in turn may be paraphyletic to the oligotrichs.