title: Current and future perspectives on the systematics, taxonomy and nomenclature of testate amoebae.
abstract: Testate amoebae are a polyphyletic assemblage of at least three major, unrelated taxonomic groups of unicellular amoeboid eukaryotes exhibiting a test. The focus on testate amoebae in scientific research has greatly increased in the past 20 years: from an average of about 5 papers a year in the mid-1990s to the current rate of more than 50 papers published yearly. The application range of these organisms is rapidly expanding as well: from the traditional fields of environmental monitoring and paleoecology, to forensic sciences and ecotoxicology studies. These developments are nevertheless strongly dependent on reliable taxonomy and nomenclature. However, scientometric data reveal that despite an ever-increasing necessity for the use of names (the product of taxonomy), the corresponding effort has not been achieved for improving testate amoebae systematics. As a consequence, inaccurate taxonomy yields to misinterpretations in the diversity of the organisms and to potentially incorrect conclusions. These and related problems are discussed in this study, highlighting the outcome of poor taxonomic expertise in accurate classification and phylogeny of testate amoebae, and the consequences derived from it. Additionally, this study is aimed to discuss the current status of testate amoebae classification, and to present all nomenclature and taxonomic changes in higher and lower taxonomic levels of testate amoebae, as a result of recent molecular reconstructions. Finally, we conclude with a list of the needs and suggestions toward a unified and modernized taxonomy of testate amoebae.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences, Department of Zoology, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, 05508-090 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anush
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kosakyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gomaa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Soil Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CH-2000, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lara
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences, Department of Zoology, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, Cidade Universitária, 05508-090 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: dlahr@ib.usp.br.
authors.forename: Daniel J G
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lahr
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba / Q000145:classification*; D002965:Classification; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Classification; Phylogeny; Taxonomy; Testate amoebae