Ellobiopsidae

Family ELLOBIOPSIDAE Coutiere, 1911c 

Protista of uncertain position, showing a  superficial likeness to peridinians, while in some respects presenting characters pointing to an affinity with flagellates; on the other hand a  possible affinity with Fungi (e.g., Saprolegniaceae) is not out of the question. The family consists of heterogeneous elements: the species of the genus Ellobiocystis are epibiotic, those of the other genera are parasitic; the species of some genera (Ellobiocystis, Parallobiopsis) do not have an internal stage, those of other genera (Ellobiopsis, Amallocystis) in all probability are internal parasites before reaching their full development. Ellobiopsidae are known as epibionts or parasites of pelagic Crustacea of various groups, and (genus Rhizellobiopsis) as parasites of non-pelagic Polychaeta.