The
choreotrichs are a group of small, marine
ciliates. They include the tintinnids, which produce loricae (shells), and are important because these may be preserved as microfossils. They became common during the
Jurassic period, but are first known from as early as the
Ordovician, and are important as the only notable record of early ciliates. Often they have been included among the oligotrichs, but they do not appear to be their sister group.
