Ornithocercus splendidus

Super Group: 
Alveolata
Phylum: 
Dinophyta
Class: 
Dinophyceae
Order: 
Dinophysiales
Family: 
Dinophysaceae
Genus: 
Ornithocercus
Species: 
splendidus
Authority: 
Schütt, 1895
Synonym(s): 
Histioneis splendida Murray & Whitting, 1899

Diagnosis

The present species is so well noted owing to its extraordinarily broader cingular parachute, but not as yet minutely explored morphologically. In lateral outline, the body appears to protrude anteriorly much beyond the bases of the cingular lists.  The leftside of a disjoined right valve, the epitheca is nearly flattened as a whole and the cingulum does not broaden distinctly dorsalwards. The left sulcal list appears to remain in a fairly primitive stage of differentiation as it has only feebly formed radial ribs, although the ventral hypothecal plates extend to the posteromedian point of the hypotheca. The posterior sail or the posterior half of the left sulcal list is not stretched posteriorly straight, but slightly bent towards the right as seen in dorsoventral view. Length of body, 40-48 micrometers. Greatest dorsoventral dimension of body, 45-62 micrometers

Type species

The type species (holotype) of the genus Ornithocercus is Ornithocercus magnificus Stein.

Ecology

Substrate: planktonic
Sociability: solitary
Salinity: marine
pH: neutral

Feeding: Photosynthetic

Life cycle

Phases_alternance: haplontic
Generation: <1 month

Reproduction_mode: asexual_binary

Feeding behaviour

Photosynthetic

Mode of locomotion

Two flagella typical for Dinophyceae
Flagellum: 2
Motility: motile_swimming

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

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