Hartmannella

A common free-living ameba found in soil, sewage, and water, known to invade invertebrates (snails, grasshoppers, oysters); suspected but not established as an agent of human primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

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Hart·man·nel·la (hahrt″mən-elґə) a genus of free-living ramicristate amebae, protozoa of the order Euamoebida, found in fresh water and soil. H. vermiforґmis and a few other species can cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised persons, usually primary amebic meningoencephalitis and sometimes other conditions such as amebic keratitis.