DINOPHYSACEAE

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2471

Family DINOPHYSACEAE

Dinophysis acuminata Claparède and Lachmann, 1859 Introduced

Dinophysis acuminata , the cause of diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning, was long known from Europe, where it was first described from Norway in the mid-nineteenth century. Reported worldwide since then, it was first detected in South Africa in 1991 ( Pitcher et al. 1993). In March 1994 it appeared as part of a multi-species harmful algal bloom in St Helena Bay ( Matthews and Pitcher 1996). We regard it as transported by ballast water, in which it has been found ( Okamoto et al. 2007).