Radiophyra belong to a general group of cilliates called Astomats, or astomatid cillates. Astomatid cillates are diverse but they are unified by one shared feature, or rather , they are unified by their lack of one share feature, a mouth. And they do not need a mouth because they have something even better. They have worms. Astomatid cilliates do parasitize animals other then worms. Some live inside mollusks, other inside leeches or even in amphibians. But they are most commonly associated with the guts of annelid worms. Astomatid cilliates are found in hosts from all sorts of environments. Some live in soil. some live in ponds. Some even live in ocean waters. And scientists are using the general tools available now to try and piece together how host and endosymbiont have shaped each other.