Contribution
Rediscovery of the multiflagellated protist Paramastix conifera Skuja 1948 (Protista incertae sedis)
Zölffel, Michael; Skibbe, Oliver
Nova Hedwigia Band 65 Heft 1-4 (1997), p. 443 - 452
19 références bibliographiques
publié: May 15, 1997
DOI: 10.1127/nova.hedwigia/65/1997/443
ArtNo. ESP050006500026, Prix: 29.00 €
Abstract
The genus Paramastix Skuja 1948 includes free-living multiflagellated heterotrophic flagellates of uncertain taxonomic position (Protista incertae sedis). Members of this taxon have not been reported from natural habitats since the original descriptions. This study rediscovers the type species Paramastix conifera, periodically appearing in a hypertrophic lake and two eutrophic ponds. Abundance and ecological demands of this remarkable flagellate were investigated during a seasonal study of lake Heiligensee (Berlin, Germany). P. conifera is an aerobic flagellate which can cope with oxygen-depleted environments. For the first time the feeding behaviour of this flagellate is described. The flagellate attacks and devours its prey through an anterior papilla. Cell morphology was studied in living and protargol-stained cells. Paramastix conifera possesses two rows of flagella. Usually 6-8 basal bodies per kinety are arranged symmetrically around the papilla. Morphological similarities with the polymastigines and the hemimastigophoran flagellates are discussed.
Mots-clefs
Paramastix conifera • multiflagellated protist • light microscopy • ecology • abundance • feeding behaviour • Hemimastigophora