Kathablepharidae Vørs, 1992

Lee, Won Je & Patterson, David J., 2000, Heterotrophic flagellates (Protista) from marine sediments of Botany Bay, Australia, Journal of Natural History 34, pp. 483-562 : 543-544

Kathablepharidae Vørs, 1992

Kathablepharis remigera (Vørs, 1992) Clay and Kugrens, 1999 (fi gures 22g, 23a -c)

Description. Cell measuring 12-18 Mm long, not fl attened, with two rows of extrusomes located ventrally. Cells are oblong or cylindrical with two fl agella inserting subapically. The fl agella are thick, longer than the cell, unequal in length and may coil around the body during swimming. The anterior fl agellum is about twice the length of the cell and may coil up during resting, and the posterior fl agellum is about three times the cell length. The nucleus lies in the middle of the cell. Cells rotate while swimming. Rarely observed.

Remarks. This species was recently transferred from Leucocryptos to the genus Kathablepharis by Clay and Kugrens (1999). It has been found from marine sites in Canada, Denmark, England, Gulf of Finland and Greenland, and the length was reported to be 7-25 Mm under the name Leucocryptos remigera (Vørs, 1992a, 1992b, 1993a; Vørs et al., 1995; Tong, 1997b). We observed one very large cell (40 Mm) which bore the general characteristic s of Kathablepharis (fi gure 23c), but the posterior fl agellum coiled up in the resting cell like Platychilomona s psammobi a. The cell has pellicular striations. This species resembles Leucocryptos marina (Braarud, 1953) Butcher, 1967 , but L. marina may be distinguishe d by the droplet-shape d body, two fl agella of similar length, fl agellar beat patterns, and different swimming pattern (see Vørs, 1992c).

Platychilomonas psammobia Larsen and Patterson, 1990 (fi gures 22h, 23d, e)

Description. Cell outline oval, 18-20 Mm long, 11-13 Mm wide, laterally compressed, with two rows of extrusomes lying at the margin of the cell. Two fl agella insert laterally and subapically in a depression in the right ventral side of the cell and are longer than the cell. In resting cells, the anterior fl agellum is held to the left margin of the cell and the posterior fl agellum is coiled up. The nucleus is located in the posterior part of the cell. Cells move rapidly by swimming and contained other algae as food. Rarely observed. Description based on observations of six cells.

Remarks. Larsen and Patterson (1990) described this species from marine sites in Danish Wadden Sea, England and Fiji, and cell length was reported to be 15- 20 Mm. Platychilomona s psammobia can be easily distinguished from other colourless fl agellates by being fl attened, by its two rows of extrusomes and its coiled posterior fl agellum. This species is like Kathablepharis remigera in having two rows of extrusomes and in swimming patterns, but when the cell rests it can be distinguished by the coiled posterior fl agellum and its fl atness.