Oxymonads are closely related to the excavate taxon Trimastix Despite intensive study in recent years, large scale eukaryote phylogeny remains poorly resolved. This is particularly problematic among the groups considered to be potential early branches. In many recent phylogenetic schemes for early eukaryotic evolution, the amitochondriate protists oxymonads and Trimastix have figured prominently, having been suggested as relatives of many of the putative deep branching protist phyla. However they have never before been proposed as close relatives of each other. [eng]