Acanthamoeba palestinensis

**Semantic type:** Eukaryote

**Definition:** A species of motile, unicellular eukaryotic amoebae within the family of Acanthamoebidae. A. palestinensis is placed in morphological group III with a 18s rRNA gene sequence type of T2. Members of this group are characterized by the presence of thin, smooth ectocysts and round endocysts. This species is a human pathogen and may cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and amoebic keratitis.

**Synonyms:** - ACANTHAMOEBA PALESTINENSIS