This amoeboid protist has been pivotal to unraveling the nature of the unicellular ancestor of animals, which has been proved to be much more complex than previously thought.

[8] Under culture conditions, C. owczarzaki’s filopodial cells crawl attached to the substrate, with active replication until the end of the exponential growth phase.

[6][7] Cystic cells measure 4 to 5 μm with a double wall: the outer thin, irregular and loosely attached; and the inner thicker, smooth.

[12][13][14] Finally, a multi-gene phylogenetic analysis with several opisthokont taxa clearly showed that C. owczarzaki is not a nucleariid, but part of the Holozoa.

C. owczarzaki not only parasitizes the intermediate host of S. mansoni but also attacks and kills the sporocysts of the flatworm living inside the snail.