SAR supergroup

Sar
Scientific classification
Superdomain:	Neomura
Domain:	Eukaryota
(unranked):	SAR Burki et al., 2007
Phyla
Stramenopiles (= Heterokonta) Alveolata Rhizaria
Synonyms
Harosa Cavalier-Smith, 2010

Sar or Harosa (informally the SAR supergroup) is a clade that includes stramenopiles (heterokonts), alveolates, and Rhizaria. The first letter of each group provides the "SAR" in the name (alternatively spelled "RAS").

The term "Harosa" (at the subkingdom level) has also been used for this grouping by Cavalier-Smith (2010). Adl et al. (2012) formalized the SAR supergroup as the node-based taxon Sar. They defined it as:

Sar: the least inclusive clade containing Bigelowiella natans Moestrup & Sengco 2001 (Rhizaria), Tetrahymena thermophila Nanney & McCoy 1976 (Alveolata), and Thalassiosira pseudonana Cleve 1873 (Stramenopiles). This is a node-based definition in which all of the specifiers are extant.

Members of the SAR supergroup were once included under the separate supergroups Chromalveolata and Rhizaria, until phylogenetic studies confirmed that stramenopiles and alveolates diverged together with Rhizaria. This apparently excluded haptophytes and cryptomonads, leading Okamoto et al. (2009) to propose the clade Hacrobia to accommodate them.

See also

• Amoebozoa
• Archaeplastida
• Excavata
• Opisthokonta