Figure 4. Hypothetical evolution of ciliated protozoa based on both morphological and molecular data to show the relationship and the positions of the taxa at order level.

(1–8), (14–17), (21), (24–26), (29–32), (36), (38), (39), (42–54), (58), (61), and (63–78) are from the present authors. (9) is from Bardele et al.¹²³. (10–13), (19), (22–23), (27–28), (33–35), (37), (40–41), (55–56), (59), and (62) are from Corliss⁴. (18) is from Foissner et al.¹²⁴, (20) is from Foissner et al.¹²⁵. (57) is from Dehority¹²⁶. (60) is from Orsi et al.¹²².