The nucleariids, or nucleariid amoebae, are a group of amoebae that comprise the sister clade of the fungi. Together, they form the clade Holomycota. They are aquatic organisms found in freshwater and marine habitats, as well as in faeces. They are free-living phagotrophic predators that mostly consume algae and bacteria.

Nucleariids are characterized by simple, spherical or flattened single-celled bodies with filopodia (fine, thread-like pseudopods), covered by a mucous coat. They lack flagella and microtubules. Inside the cytoplasm of some species are endosymbiotic proteobacteria. Some species are naked, with only the mucous coat as cover, while others (known as 'scaled' nucleariids) have silica-based or exogenous particles of various shapes.

An exceptional nucleariid, Fonticula alba, develops multicellular fruiting bodies (sorocarps) for spore dispersal. It is one of several cases of independently evolved multicellularity within Opisthokonta, the clade that houses both Holozoa (which includes animals) and Holomycota.

Initially, nucleariids were grouped with other filose amoebae (i.e., with filopodia) based on their superficial similarity. Silica-scaled and naked nucleariids were classified into separate families from one another, Pompholyxophryidae and Nucleariidae, respectively. Due to its nature as a slime mold, the genus Fonticula has also been classified separatedly, particularly with acrasids and other slime molds. With advancements in electron microscopy and molecular phylogenetics, the three groups were revealed to belong to the same clade as sister to the fungi. Due to lack of molecular data, the three groups are treated as one family, under the name of Nucleariidae.

Various conflicting systems of above-family classification exist for nucleariids, with older systems grouping them as a class Cristidiscoidea composed of two orders: one for Fonticula and another for the remaining species. Mycologists regard them as an independent kingdom of life, Nucleariae, with two phyla that mirror those two orders. They are generally accepted by protistologists as a single order Rotosphaerida, which is the oldest taxonomic name for these organisms.

Nucleariids are single-celled amoebae that lack flagella and have radiating filopodia (i.e., thread-like pseudopodia). They have a spherical or sometimes flattened cell bodies with one or few conspicuous nuclei, each with a prominent central nucleolus except for Fonticula and Parvularia: Parvularia can also have peripheral nucleoral material instead, and Fonticula has an indistinct nucleolus. The cytoplasm contains multiple vacuoles, including food vesicles, contractile vacuoles in freshwater species, and lipid globules. They have relatively simple cells in comparison to other protists: they lack flagella, cytoplasmic microtubules, extrusomes, and special organelles. Exceptionally, some species contain endosymbiotic proteobacteria (most frequently members of the genus Rickettsia).

Most nucleariids have some kind of mucous coat, with or without coverings. The coverings can be made with endogenous silica-based particles (known as idiosomes) or with exogenous particles (known as xenosomes). These particles are developed into hollow siliceous scales or spines. The mucous coat itself—sometimes called glycocalyx—is enigmatic, as it can be present or absent in the same organism depending on the conditions. It appears to be made of one or two layers fibrous material running parallel to the cell membrane, and it often houses bacterial ectosymbionts. Surrounding the cell periphery, the characteristic hyaline (i.e., transparent) filopodia are found, originating from any point of the cell surface, sometimes branching or tapering but are never stiff or anastomosing (fusing with one another). Unlike Heliozoa, these filopodia are not supported by microtubules and do not contain extrusomes.

Most species develop a resting cyst during their life cycle consisting of a smooth spherical cell covered by one or more thick layers of a translucent material.