Perkinsus is a genus of alveolates in the phylum Perkinsozoa. The genus was erected in 1978 to better treat its type species, Perkinsus marinus, known formerly as Dermocystidium marinum. These are parasiticprotozoans that infect molluscs, at least some of which cause disease and mass mortality. P. marinus is the most notorious, causing the disease perkinsosis, or dermo, in wild and farmed oysters.
Description
Perkinsus is a genus in the class Perkinsea that is a parasite of bivalve molluscs; it displays a number of features typical of the dinoflagellates including laterally inserted heterodynamic flagella,. However, it has been settled that Perkinsus does not belong to the phylumDinoflagellata, but rather into the phylum Perkinsozoa, which is the sister group of dinoflagellates.
Classification
As of 2004, six valid species were in the genus. At least two more have been described since then.
↑Coss, C. A.; etal. (2001). "Description of Perkinsus andrewsi n. sp. isolated from the Baltic clam (Macoma balthica) by characterization of the ribosomal RNA locus, and development of a species-specific PCR-based diagnostic assay". J Eukaryot Microbiol. 48 (1): 52–61. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2001.tb00415.x. PMID11249193. S2CID30154498.