Mesodinium rubrum

Super Group: 
Chromista
Phylum: 
Ciliophora
Class: 
Litostomatea
Order: 
Cyclotrichiida
Family: 
Mesodiniidae
Genus: 
Mesodinium
Species: 
rubrum
Authority: 
Lohmann, 1908
Synonym(s): 
Myrionecta rubra Lohmann, 1908

Diagnosis

Bloom : Yes
Body_length : 15-20 µm
Cross-sections of tentacles revealed rings (cylinders) of 14 microtubules with spokes. The number of microtubules per ring decreased from 14 to 12 or 11 inside the cell but no true kinetosomes were detected. These "micro-rings" were often associated with extrusomes and the tentacle tips consisted of extrusomes. A nucleus of a symbiotic alga was present, surrounded by algal cytoplasm containing plastids and delimited from the ciliate cytoplasm by two membranes. Each plastid was bounded by four membranes and was associated with one nucleomorph, suggesting a symbiotic origin as a cryptophyte. 

Life cycle

Solitary

Observation site(s)

HOSTS

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Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Dinophysis acuminata
Park MG, Kim S, Kim HS, Myung G, Kang YG, Yih W (2006) First successful culture of the marine dinoflagellate Dinophysis acuminata. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 45:101 - 106. doi: 10.3354/ame045101