Ciliate

phylum of protozoans

The ciliates are a group of protists which have hair-like organelles called cilia.

Ciliates
Temporal range: Ediacaran - Recent
"Ciliata" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
Scientific classification
Domain:
Kingdom:
Superphylum:
Phylum:
Ciliophora

Doflein, 1901 emend.

Ciliates are identical in structure to flagella, but typically shorter and in much larger numbers. They have a different pattern of waving than do flagella.

Cilia occur in all members of the group (although the peculiar suctoria have them only for part of the life-cycle). They are used for swimming, crawling, attachment, feeding, and sensation.