Telonemia

Telonemia are a phylum of microscopic eukaryote, single-celled organisms. They are protists and are suggested to have evolutionary significance in being a possible missing link between ecologically important heterotrophic and photosynthetic species. 

According to Kamran Shalchian-Tabrizi from the University of Oslo’s Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, "this new group of organisms may have a greater genetic diversity than all known genomes of mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles". Telonemia eat other single-cell organisms and planktonic algae, and in turn is eaten by animal plankton. "We are convinced that this group plays a central role in the ocean’s food chain and is a fragile piece of the greater ecological interplay,” says professor Kjetill S. Jakobsen.

Telonemia species eat other living cells, and thus might be useful in understanding basic cell biology.

Species
Telonema antarctica Thomsen 1992  Telonema subtile Griessmann 1913 (synonym Telonema subtilis Griessmann, 1913)