Protistology 11 (1) 20–36 (2017) |
Morphological variability of Padaungiella lageniformis (Arcellinida: Padaungiellidae) from the central part of the Balkan Peninsula |
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad, Serbia | Submitted January 19, 2017 | Accepted February 25, 2017 | Summary The genus Padaungiella includes five species characterized by flask-shaped shells covered by predated or collected plates. Padaungiella lageniformis is the type species with cosmopolitan distribution. In this paper, morphological variability of P. lageniformis based on three populations from the central part of the Balkan Peninsula is presented. A specimen characterized by the pointed shell fundus was observed. Also, several specimens completely covered by square plates were registered; therefore, taxonomic status of Nebela cordiformis and Quadrulella lageniformis are discussed. In one studied population, shells with very long neck (up to 55 μm) were observed and thus relations of P. lageniformis with P. wetekampi are discussed. It is concluded that shell width/shell length ratio is a very important taxonomic character for distinguishing P. lageniformis (0.45–0.67) and P. nebeloides (0.34–0.46). In addition, synonymizing of P. wailesi with P. lageniformis is proposed.
Key words: biometry, morphometry, protists, taxonomy, testate amoebae
Address for correspondence: Stefan Luketa. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia; e-mail: stefan.luketa@dbe.uns.ac.rs |
| Load PDF | Back to Contents | |