Keppenodinium lobata

Super Group: 
Alveolata
Phylum: 
Dinophyta
Sub-Phylum: 
Dinozoa
Class: 
Syndinea
Order: 
Syndiniales
Family: 
Euduboscquellidae
Genus: 
Keppenodinium
Species: 
lobata
Authority: 
Loeblich & Loeblich 1966 (Cachon 1964)
Synonym(s): 
Hollandella lobata Cachon 1964

Diagnosis

Diagnosis_Genus: The trophont develops inside the endoplasm of its host (Radiolaria, Polycystinea, Spumellarida). Chromosomes have a normal appareance at this stage. Digitations of the cytoplasm are formed. A small structure, likely homologous to the lamina pharyngea in Euduboscquella, is formed at the external part of one of these digitations. Sporulation develops inside the ectoplasm, and starts when one or more digitations pass through the host shell. During sporulation, chromosomes have a V-shaped appearance.
Diagnosis-Species: This parasite is infecting Plegmosphaera coronata, a Sphaerellidae, that does not have internal spicules in their skeleton (only a spongy shell). The mature trophont is uninucleated (70 x 40 µm in size). The host nucleus is digested only at the end of the trophont maturation. Mature trophont has 200 µm of diameter.  The sporont forms short digitations that elongated throughout all possible aperture of the host shell. Within digitations, eosinophylic elongated structure are observed in the cytoplasm. Sporulation not described. More than one sporont at different maturation stages may develop within the same host: they correspond the multiple infections from different individuals.

Type species

The type species of the genus is Keppenodinium mycetoides.

Type illustration / Type locality / Type specimen

Type host: Plegmosphaera coronata

Ecology

Sociability_sporont: solitary
Sociability_sporont: sometime gregarious

Substrate: endozoic
Salinity: marine

Life cycle

Generation: <1 month
Reproduction_mode: asexual
Symbiont: horizontal

Feeding behaviour

Osmotrophy
Parasitism

Observation site(s)

HOSTS

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Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Plegmophora coronata