 Members of this group are named for their idiosyncratic method of movement ("ebrius", "drunk").Ebriids are usually encountered in low abundance and have a peculiar combination of ultrastructural characters including a large nucleus with permanently condensed chromosomes and an internal skeleton composed of siliceous rods.The taxonomic history of the group has been tumultuous and has included a variety of affiliations, such as silicoflagellates, dinoflagellates, 'radiolarians' and 'neomonads'.