Schoutedamoeba Van Wichelen & Vanormelingen gen. n., 2016

Van Wichelen, Jeroen, D’Hondt, Sofie, Claeys, Myriam, Vyverman, Wim, Berney, Cédric, Bass, David & Vanormelingen, Pieter, 2016, A Hotspot of Amoebae Diversity: 8 New Naked Amoebae Associated with the Planktonic Bloom-forming Cyanobacterium Microcystis, Acta Protozoologica 55 (2), pp. 61-87 : 82-83

Schoutedamoeba Van Wichelen & Vanormelingen gen. n.

Diagnosis: Very small (generally <20 µm), uninucleate limax amoeba characterized by alternating eruptive-like pseudopodia formation. Occasional presence of small adhesive uroidal filaments. Posteriorly one small contractile vacuole. Cytoplasm contains several small refractive spheres. Globular floating form with radially several small round, bulb-like pseudopodia. No aggregation or cysts observed. Its 18S rDNA shows a secondary structure (expansion of helix 43 in the variable region V 7) typical for the Variosea.

Differential diagnosis: Morphologically very similar to small Hartmannellidae and Vahlkampfiidae . Probably only distinguishable by its 18S rDNA sequence.

Etymology: The genus is named in honor of Prof. Dr. Henri Schouteden, a prominent Belgian zoologist who was the first to study and describe amoebae from Belgian localities ( Schouteden 1905a, b; Van Oye 1956).