Alexandrium tamutum
Diagnosis
Elliptical in shape. Cingulum excavated with its right end displaced posteriorly one cingular width. Plate pattern: Po, 4', 0a, 6'', 6C, 9S, 5''', 0p, 2''''. The first apical plate is irregularly rhomboidal and contacts Po. A small ventral pore is present on the anterior right margin of the first apical plate. The sixth precingular plate (6'') is as wide as long. The posterior sulcal plate (Sp) is roughly rectangular, wider than longer. Thecal plates are thin and smooth, with small pores. Cysts are circular (26–32 µm diameter) when seen from above and kidney shaped (16–20 µm high) when seen from the side. Cyst wall is thick and surrounded by amucous layer; cyst content is granular and a brownish accumulation body is present.
Etymology
The word tamutum is composed by the first part of the word ‘‘tamarense’’ and the last part of the word ‘‘minutum’’ and indicates the morphological relatedness of A. tamutum with both A. tamarense and A. minutum.
Type illustration / Type locality / Type specimen
Type locality: Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea
Ecology
Substrate: planktonic
Sociability: solitary
Salinity: marine
pH: neutral
Feeding: Photosynthetic
Life cycle
Phases_alternance: haplontic
Generation: <1 month
Reproduction_mode: asexual_binary
Reproduction_mode: sexual_heterothallic
Resting_stage: cysts_sexual (Resting cysts described in Montresor et al. 2004).
Resting_stage: cysts_asexual
Feeding behaviour
Mode of locomotion
Reference(s)
Attached phylogeny
Observation site(s)
SYMBIONTS
Association with... | Region origin | Name of site | In reference... |
---|---|---|---|
Parvilucifera infectans | Penzé estuary |
Parvilucifera rostrata sp. nov. (Perkinsozoa), a Novel Parasitoid that Infects Planktonic Dinoflagellates. Protist 165:31 - 49. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2013.09.005 (2014) |
|
Parvilucifera infectans | Rance estuary |
Parvilucifera rostrata sp. nov. (Perkinsozoa), a Novel Parasitoid that Infects Planktonic Dinoflagellates. Protist 165:31 - 49. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2013.09.005 (2014) |
|
Parvilucifera rostrata | Penzé estuary |
Parvilucifera rostrata sp. nov. (Perkinsozoa), a Novel Parasitoid that Infects Planktonic Dinoflagellates. Protist 165:31 - 49. doi: 10.1016/j.protis.2013.09.005 (2014) |