Beast form Serra do Japi
Hi all, I thought we could discuss about the identity of the amoeba featured in the Twilight Zone. Thanks in advance!
Pseudopod your life.
Beast form Serra do Japi
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Summary:
Help me identify this testate amoeba.
On figs 2,3,4 this is Diffligia nodosa.
Thanks Yuri!
Actually these are SEMs from 2 individuals. Fig. 1 is a top view of the specimen in Figure 2. It is really compressed dorso-ventrally (or laterally?), so when I found it on slides I was seeing the wide part, but then by picking it I could realize it was really flat on the other dimension.
If I may ask, do you have a reference for Difflugia nodosa? I don't think I've ever read about this taxon.
Thanks again!
dan
Pseudopod your life.
Hi Dan.
These specimens are compressed laterally. I'm sure that both individuals are belong to the same species. It is more or less polymorphic.
Actually it is common species in freshwater sediments.
You can find some information here:
Ogden, C.G., Zivkovic, A. Morphological studies on some Difflugiidae from Yugoslavia (Rhizopoda, Protozoa). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology. Ser. 1983. V. 44. Iss. 6. P 341-375.
Chardez, D. Etude et notes systematiques sur trois thecamoebiens de la section des comprimees. Revue Vervietoise d'Histoire Naturelle. 1981. V. 38. Iss. 1-3. P. 20-24.
Cheers
Yuri.
Thank you Yuri! This does make a lot of sense.
I looked on the Ogden and Zivcovic reference, and Difflugia nodosa was indeed described in Leidy as Difflugia pyriformis var. nodosa, which is the figure I was looking at in Leidy's book.
My images are a perfect match with Ogden and Zivcovic images in page 355, even the cement! Also the dimensions (as far as I remember) fit very well. It seems this has been recorded for North America, Europe, Russia and Africa. Well, now we can add South America to the tally - or maybe it has been recorded already? How about southern Asia?
In any case, thanks so much for the help Yuri, I think I will file this under a "Mystery solved" session in the website, what do you think?
Pseudopod your life.
Okay, I've made a Mystery solved section, and included a link to the Ogden and Zivcovic article which is freely available at the Biodiversity Heritage Library!
Pseudopod your life.
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