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The Collaborative International Dictionary
dinoflagellate

dinoflagellate \dinoflagellate\ n. a member of the Dinoflagellata, chiefly marine protozoa having two flagella. The dinoflagellates form a chief constituent of plankton. [WordNet 1.5] ||

Wiktionary
dinoflagellate

n. Any of many marine protozoa, of the phylum Dinoflagellata, that have two flagella

WordNet
dinoflagellate

n. chiefly marine protozoa having two flagella; a chief constituent of plankton

Wikipedia
Dinoflagellate

The dinoflagellates ( Greek δῖνος dinos "whirling" and Latin flagellum "whip, scourge") are a large group of flagellate protists that constitute the phylum Dinoflagellata. Most are marine plankton, but they are common in freshwater habitats, as well. Their populations are distributed depending on temperature, salinity, or depth. Many dinoflagellates are known to be photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey ( phagotrophy). In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates form one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although this group is substantially smaller than the diatoms. Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other dinoflagellates are colorless predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic (see for example Oodinium, Pfiesteria). Some dinoflagellates produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts, as part of their lifecycles.

Dinoflagellates are considered to be protists, with their own division, Dinoflagellata.

About 1,555 species of free-living marine dinoflagellates are currently described. Another estimate suggests about 2,000 living species, of which more than 1,700 are marine (free-living, as well as benthic) and about 220 are from fresh water. The latest estimates suggest a total of 2,294 living dinoflagellate species, which includes marine, freshwater and parasitic dinoflagellates.

A bloom of dinoflagellates can result in a visible coloration of the water colloquially known as red tide,which can cause shellfish poisoning if humans consume contaminated shellfish.

Usage examples of "dinoflagellate".

Fourteen species of autotrophic nannoflagellates, twenty heterotrophic flagellates, forty heterotrophic dinoflagellates, and several metazoans, including polychaetes, amphipods, copepods, euphausids, and fish.

Fourteen species of autotrophic nannoflagellates, twenty heterotrophic flagellates, forty heterotrophic dinoflagellates, and several metazoans, including polychaetes, amphipods, copepods, euphausids, and fish.

Lumpeyins are apparently bioluminescent like the dinoflagellates, black dragonfish, fireflies, and many other organisms on Earth.

The smothering toxicity of the dinoflagellates as they cluster and bloom into a red tide kills the diatoms.

But we believe that a contaminant of some kind is spilling out of the Niger River and mutating the dinoflagellates that thrive in seawater and boosting their reproduction cycle.

But I haven't been able to isolate the synthetic chemical pollutants that cause the dinoflagellates to run crazy.

Since entering the delta and passing the main tributaries of the lower Niger, the Kaduna, and Benue Rivers, the water samples have driven the dinoflagellates into a frenzy.

Phosphorescent dinoflagellates would have followed instinct and swum upward into the meteorite shaft, becoming trapped just beneath the meteorite and freezing into the ice.

Mitch examined his saucer, adorned with three beautifully rendered dinoflagellates, and wondered what he would do if he had all the money he could ever hope to spend.