Editing Acantharia (section)

==Life cycle==
[[File:Life cycle in symbiotic and cyst-forming Acantharia.png|thumb|Hypothetical scenario of the life cycle in symbiotic and cyst-forming Acantharia with shallow and deep reproduction, respectively.<ref name=Decelle2013 />]]

Adults are usually multinucleated.<ref name=":0" /> Earlier diverging clades are able to shed their spines and form cysts, which are often referred to as reproductive cysts.<ref name=Decelle2013 /> Reproduction is thought to take place by formation of swarmer cells (formerly referred to as "spores"), which may be [[flagellate]], and cysts have been observed to release these swarmers. Non-encysted cells have also been seen releasing swarmers in laboratory conditions. Not all life cycle stages have been observed, however, and no one has witnessed the fusion of swarmers to produce a new acantharian. Cysts are often found in [[sediment trap]]s and it is therefore believed that the cysts help acantharians sink into deep water.<ref name=":4" /> Genetic data and some imaging suggests that non-cyst-forming acantharians may also sink to deep water to release swarmers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brisbin|first1=Margaret Mars|last2=Brunner|first2=Otis Davey|last3=Grossmann|first3=Mary Matilda|last4=Mitarai|first4=Satoshi|title= Paired high-throughput, in situ imaging and high-throughput sequencing illuminate acantharian abundance and vertical distribution|journal=Limnology and Oceanography|year=2020|volume=65 |issue=12 |language=en|page=2953|doi=10.1002/lno.11567|bibcode=2020LimOc..65.2953M|issn=1939-5590|doi-access=free}}</ref> Releasing swarmer cells in deeper water may improve the survival chances of juveniles.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Patrick|last2=Allen|first2=John T.|last3=Cooper|first3=Matthew J.|last4=Johns|first4=David G.|last5=Lampitt|first5=Richard S.|last6=Sanders|first6=Richard|last7=Teagle|first7=Damon A. H.|date=2010|title=Sedimentation of acantharian cysts in the Iceland Basin: Strontium as a ballast for deep ocean particle flux, and implications for acantharian reproductive strategies|journal=Limnology and Oceanography|language=en|volume=55|issue=2|pages=604–614|doi=10.4319/lo.2010.55.2.0604|bibcode=2010LimOc..55..604M|issn=1939-5590|doi-access=free}}</ref> Study of these organisms has been hampered mainly by an inability to "close the lifecycle" and maintain these organisms in culture through successive generations.

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