Protozoa Guide review

TRICHOSIDAE

family / TRICHOSIDAE

Description

by F. L. SCHUSTER Multinucleate marine amebae with alternation of schizont (asexual) and gamont (sexual) generations , the former with calcite spicules on the surface and the latter without. Page (1983) suggests use of terms "fuzzy" and "smooth" for schizont and gamont i ndividuals , respectively , until the life-cycle can be better defined. Gamonts rare in cultured material. Spicule morphology and size of amebae useful characters for speciation , though spicule morphology is varied . Organism covered by a complex test or glycocalyx consisting of spicules embedded in mucin layer on top of a fibrillar layer (Sheehan and Banner , 1973) . Test contains multiple apertures through which unbranched , probably sensory, dactylopods extend. Dacytlopods probably tactile in function . Movement by means of lobopodia . Wide distribution in littoral zone, and frequently isolated from marine aquaria. Euryhaline and eurythermal according to Sheehan and Banner (1973) . Gametogenesis reported by Schaudinn (1899) and Angell (1976). Pon tifex maximus is a large marine amoeba described by Schaeffer (1926). Because it resembles in its general characteristics the gamont or smooth form , Griffin and Spoon (1977) and Page (1983) consider it to be Trichosphaerium . TRICHOSIDAE sieboldi with spicules covering the cell surface and dactylopods projecting beyond the spicule layer. X2700 .

Type species

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by F. L. SCHUSTER
Multinucleate marine amebae with
alternation of schizont (asexual) and
gamont (sexual) generations , the former
with calcite spicules on the surface and the
latter without. Page (1983) suggests use
of terms "fuzzy" and "smooth" for
schizont and gamont i ndividuals ,
respectively , until the life-cycle can be
better defined. Gamonts rare in cultured
material. Spicule morphology and size of
amebae useful characters for speciation ,
though spicule morphology is varied .
Organism covered by a complex test or
glycocalyx consisting of spicules embedded
in mucin layer on top of a fibrillar layer
(Sheehan and Banner , 1973) . Test
contains multiple apertures through which
unbranched , probably sensory, dactylopods
extend. Dacytlopods probably tactile in
function . Movement by means of
lobopodia . Wide distribution in littoral
zone, and frequently isolated from marine
aquaria. Euryhaline and eurythermal
according to Sheehan and Banner (1973) .
Gametogenesis reported by Schaudinn
(1899) and Angell (1976). Pon tifex
maximus is a large marine amoeba
described by Schaeffer (1926). Because it
resembles in its general characteristics the
gamont or smooth form , Griffin and Spoon
(1977) and Page (1983) consider it to be
Trichosphaerium .
TRICHOSIDAE
sieboldi with spicules covering the cell surface
and dactylopods projecting beyond the spicule
layer. X2700 .