Mixotricha mitochondria degenerated in hydrogenosomes and mitosomes and lost the ability to produce energy aerobically by oxidative phosphorylation.

[5] Trichomonads like Mixotricha reproduce by a special form of longitudinal fission, leading to large numbers of trophozoites in a relatively short time.

Cysts never form, so transmission from one host to another is always based on direct contact between the sites they occupy.

[8] Species of the order Trichomonadida typically have four to six flagella at the cell's apical pole, one of which is recurrent - that is, it runs along a surface wave, giving the aspect of an undulating membrane.

[5] At least one endosymbiont lives inside the protist to help digest cellulose and lignin, a major component of the wood the termites eat.

Mixotricha mitochondria degenerated and lost the ability to produce energy aerobically by oxidative phosphorylation.

[1][2] Mitochondrial relics include hydrogenosomes which produce hydrogen and small structures called mitosomes.

The ciliate belongs to an archaic group that used to be called archezoa but this term is no longer in fashion.