Allovahlkampfia minuta nov. sp., (Acrasidae, Heterolobosea, Excavata) a New Soil Amoeba at the Boundary of the Acrasid Cellular Slime Moulds Author De Obeso Fernadez Del Valle, Alvaro Author Maciver, Sutherland K. text Acta Protozoologica 2017 56 3 181 189 https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/f9d8a468-c41c-3021-8516-89b0def62ea0/ journal article 10.4467/16890027AP.17.016.7497 1689-0027 12637757 Allovahlkampfia minuta n. sp. Description. The locomotive morphology of this species is typical for small heterolobosean amoebae. Amoeba length 13.4 µm (range 9.5–16.7) and width 8.1 µm (range 4.6–15.6). Length:breadth ratio is 1.65. A well-developed uroid is not often visible but trailing uroidal filaments are occasionally observed on glass and tissue culture plastic. The spherical nucleus is variable in diameter but it ranges between 1.5–2.5 µm. There is a central nucleolus. A contractile vacuole is usually visible in trophozoites in Neff’s saline or distilled water. This is usually located at the rear of the amoeba, often within the bulbous uroid, if it is present. Growth on E. coli is observed between 4 and 28 oC , with an optimum at 24 oC . The pelleted trophozoites have a distinct pink/orange colour. Cysts. Spheroidal diameter 6.5 µm (range 4.7–8.9) with a single cell wall and lacking pores. The mononuclear cysts are usually formed in aggregates. Etymology. This isolate is significantly smaller than any other described Allovahlkampfia species , hence the name ‘‘ minuta ’’. Type locality. Bank of Loch Shiel (freshwater) near the Glennfinnan monument (latitude 56.8687; longi- tude – 5.4378), Scotland , UK . The elevation is 4 m . Habitat. Alluvial soil. Type material. A culture of A. minuta has been deposited with the Culture Collection of Algae and Protists , accession number CCAP 2502 /7, and gene sequences deposited with GenBank, MF 680037 and MF677901 for the 18S rRNA gene and the ITS region respectively . Acknowedgements. We are grateful to Mr Samuel Casasola Zamora for collecting soil samples. We are pleased to acknowledge support from Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and a University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine PhD Studentship. Support from Amoebics Ltd, Edinburgh is also acknowledged. We also gratefully acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for their useful and insightful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.