[1] Tunicaraptor unikontum is a small unicellular flagellate composed of oval cells similar to some fungal zoospores, with a length of 3–5 μm.

It has one flagellum with a flagellar pocket, and an external envelope or ‘theca’ with long hairs of around 110 nm.

[1][2] The characteristics of the Rel homology region of the filasterean Txikispora philomaios was highly similar to Tunicaraptor unikontum, suggesting a phylogenetic relationship between the two species.

[3] Metazoa Choanoflagellata Filasterea Tunicaraptor Corallochytrium Syssomonas Ichthyosporea Holomycota In search for the genes responsible for animal multicellularity across the eukaryote evolution, a precursor for a neuropeptide gene, nesfatin-1, has also been found in Tunicaraptor unikontum.

These discoveries suggest that neuropeptide signaling in animals has a deep evolutionary ancestry in their unicellular relatives.