Zooflagellates assimilate organic material by osmotrophy (absorption through the plasma membrane) or phagotrophy (engulfing prey in food vacuoles). The zooflagellate’s flexible pellicle (envelope) is sufficiently thin in certain genera to permit pseudopodal projections. Zooflagellates exhibit a considerable variation in form, and they may be free-living, symbiotic, commensal, or parasitic in humans and other animals and in certain plants.
