(′rī·zə′pō·dē·ə)

(invertebrate zoology) A class of the protozoan superclass Sarcodina in which pseudopodia may be filopodia, lobopodia, or reticulopodia, or may be absent.

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A class of Sarcodina including both parasitic and free-living species found in fresh and salt water and the soil. No species forms true axopodia; instead, pseudopodia may be filopodia, lobopodia, or reticulopodia; or there may be no pseudopodia in some cases. Rhizopodea include five subclasses: Lobosia, Filosia, Granuloreticulosia, Mycetozoia, and Labyrinthulia. See also Filosia; Granuloreticulosia; Labyrinthulia; Lobosia; Sarcodina.

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(rī'zə-pō'dē-ə) or Rhi·zop·o·da (rī-zŏp'ə-də)
n.

A phylum of microorganisms that includes protozoa such as the ameba that move and take in nourishment by means of pseudopods.

A class of protozoa of the subphylum Sarcodina, having pseudopodia, and including the amebae.

IN BRIEF: n. - Creeping protozoans: amoebas and foraminifers.