Editing Centrohelid (section)

==Characteristics==
Individuals are unicellular and spherical, usually around 30–80 μm in diameter, and covered with long radial axopods, narrow cellular projections that capture food and allow mobile forms to move about.

A few genera have no cell covering, but most have a gelatinous coat holding scales and spines, produced in special deposition vesicles.  These may be organic or siliceous and come in various shapes and sizes.  For instance, in ''[[Raphidiophrys]]'' the coat extends along the bases of the axopods, covering them with curved spicules that give them a pine-treeish look, and in ''Raphidiocystis'' there are both short cup-shaped spicules and long tubular spicules that are only a little shorter than the axopods.  Some other common genera include ''[[Heterophrys]]'', ''Actinocystis'', and ''[[Oxnerella]]''.

The axopods of centrohelids are supported by [[microtubule]]s in a triangular-hexagonal array, which arise from a tripartite granule called the ''centroplast'' at the center of the cell.  Axopods with a similar array occur in [[gymnosphaerid]]s, which have traditionally been considered centrohelids (though sometimes in a separate order from the others).  This was questioned when it was found they have [[mitochondrion|mitochondria]] with tubular [[crista]]e, as do other heliozoa, while in centrohelids the cristae are flat.  Although this is no longer considered a very reliable character, on balance gymnosphaerids seem to be a separate group.

[[File:2023 Centrohelid.svg|thumb|upright=2|center|{{center|'''Representation of a centrohelid'''}}{{ordered list|[[Pseudopodia#Axopodia|Axopod]]|
[[Microtubule]] bundle|
Kinetocysts, probably help to paralyze prey|
[[Contractile vacuole]], regulates the quantity of water inside a cell|
[[Lipid]] globule|
[[Lysosome]], holds enzymes|
[[Phagosome|Phagocytic vesicle]]|
[[Golgi apparatus]] layer, modifies [[protein]]s and sends them out of the cell|
Exclusion zone|
Centroplast|
Central [[Granule (cell biology)|granule]]|
Scales|
Spicule-forming [[organelle]], spicules are the needle-shaped spines on the surface<ref name=spicule>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1434461015001224|title=There and Back Again: Parallel Evolution of Cell Coverings in Centrohelid Heliozoans
|first=Vasily V.|last=Zlatogursky|access-date=2024-11-02|journal=Protist|volume=167|issue=1|date=February 2016|pages=51-66}}</ref>|
[[Silicon dioxide|Silica]] deposition [[Vesicle (biology and chemistry)|vesicle]]|
Digestive vesicle|
[[Nucleolus]]|
[[Cell nucleus|Nucleus]]|
Prekinetocyst|
[[Mitochondria|Mitochondrion]], creates [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]] (energy) for the cell (ribbon shaped cristae)|
Prey|
Endoplasm|
[[Ectoplasm (cell biology)|Ectoplasm]]}}]]