1650 species are known in this taxon. They are divided into three orders based on habitat, host range, and trophozoite morphology. Most species have monoxenous lifecycles involving a single invertebrate host. In the lifecycle, the extracellular feeding stage is known as the trophozoite. Main divisions Archigregarines are found only in marine habitats. They possess intestinal trophozoites similar in morphology to the infective sporozoites. Phylogenetic analysis suggests this group is paraphyletic and will need division. Generally, four zoites are in each spore in this group. Eugregarines are found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. These species possess large trophozoites that are significantly different in morphology and behavior from the sporozoites. This taxon contains most of the known gregarine species. The intestinal eugregarines are separated into septate – suborder Septatorina – and aseptate – suborder Aseptatorina – depending on whether the trophozoite is superficially divided by a transverse septum. The aseptate species are mostly marine gregarines. Urosporidians are aseptate eugregarines that infect the coelomic spaces of marine hosts. Unusually, they tend to lack attachment structures and form gamont pairs that pulsate freely within the coelomic fluid. Monocystids are aseptate eugregarines that infect the reproductive vesicles of terrestrial annelids. These latter species tend to branch closely with neogregarines and may need to be reclassified. Generally, eight zoites are in each spore in this group. Neogregarines are found only in terrestrial hosts. These species have reduced trophozoites and tend to infect tissues other than the intestine. Usually, eight zoites are in each spore in this group. The eugregarines and neogregarines differ in a number of respects. The neogregarines are in general more pathogenic to their hosts. The eugregarines multiply by sporogony and gametogony, while the neogregarines have an additional schizogenic stage – merogony – within their hosts. Merogony may be intracellular or extracellular depending on the species. DNA studies suggest the archigregarines are ancestral to the others. Proposed revisions Cavalier-Smith has proposed a significant revision of this taxon assuming the polyphyly of eugregarines. He has separated gregarines into three classes. The first of them – Gregarinomorphea – comprises Orthogregarinia, Cryptosporidiidae and, additionally, Rhytidocystidae previously considered as divergent coccidians or Apicomplexa incertae sedis. The Orthogregarinia with two new orders Arthrogregarida and Vermigregarida was created for the gregarines most closely related to Cryptosporidium. The second class – Paragregarea – was created for the archigregarines, Stenophorida and a new order – Velocida which itself was created for