Heterotrophic ¯ agellates (Protista) from marine sediments of Botany Bay, Australia
Author
Lee, Won Je
Author
Patterson, David J.
text
Journal of Natural History
2000
34
483
562
journal article
1464-5262
Petalomonas iugosus
Lee and Patterson
,
n. sp.
(®gures 14k, 15h, i.
Type
micrograph: ®gure 15i)
Diagnosis
.
Petalomonas
, cell heart-shaped, 11±12 Mm long, 8 Mm wide, with an indentation of the posterior end and three longitudinal ridges on the dorsal right half of the cell.
Description.
Colourless, rigid and gliding cell. Cell heart-shaped, 11±12 Mm long and 8 Mm wide, ¯attened, with an indentation in the posterior end of the cell. The left half of the cell is slightly longer than the right half. This species has three distinct longitudinal dorsal ridges running along the cell on the right half of the cell. There are two indistinct ventral ridges, the right one runs beneath the reservoir along the cell. One ¯agellum emerges from the canal and is as long as the cell. The distal part of the ¯agellum moves a little when the cell glides. The reservoir is situated anteriorly to the right of the antero-posterior axis of the cell. The nucleus is situated in a median position or just below the reservoir. Three cells observed.
Remarks.
The species described here has the characteristics of the genus
Petalomonas
in being a rigid and ¯attened heterotrophic euglenid, and in having one emergent ¯agellum.
Petalomonas iugosus
can be distinguished by size from all species in the genus, excepting
P. minor
Larsen and Patterson, 1990
,
P. minuta
Hollande, 1942
and
P. poosilla
Larsen and Patterson, 1990
(see
Huber-Pestalozzi, 1955
;
Larsen and Patterson, 1990
). It can be distinguished from these species by the presence of three longitudinal ridges.
Petalomonas iugosus
is similar in general cell shape to
P. steini
var.
cordiformis
Christen, 1962
and
P. triquetra
Skvortzov, 1929
, but it is much smaller (
P. steini
var.
cordiformis
40±45 Mm,
P. triquetra
30±33 Mm), and has three dorsal ridges rather than one dorsal keel (
P. steini
var.
cordiformis
) or one ventral keel (
P. triquetra
) (see
Huber-Pestalozzi, 1955
;
Christen, 1962b
).