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StigmatellaRANK: GenusTAXONOMY: Proteobacteria -> delta/epsilon subdivisions -> Deltaproteobacteria -> Myxococcales -> Cystobacterineae -> Cystobacteraceae -> Stigmatella OVERVIEW: Vegetative cells are moderately long, boat-shaped, fusiform cells with tapering ends, 0.7–0.8 × 4–8 µm. Myxospores short, often bent rods with rounded ends, optically refractile, 0.9–1.2 × 2–4 µm. Fruiting bodies consist of more or less spherical sporangioles, either solitary or in clusters on stalks. Swarm colonies with an extremely tough slime sheet with radial veins, often with oscillating waves that typically are arranged in long, narrow tracks rather than in extended fields. Adsorbs Congo red with a purple-red color. Of the proteolytic–bacteriolytic nutritional type. Degrades chitin efficiently. Type species: Stigmatella aurantiaca |