Amastigomonas mutabilis ( Griessmann 1913 ) Molina and Nerad 1991

Lee, Won Je, 2015, Small Free-Living Heterotrophic Flagellates from Marine Sediments of Gippsland Basin, South-Eastern Australia, Acta Protozoologica 54 (1), pp. 53-76 : 61-62

Amastigomonas mutabilis ( Griessmann 1913) Molina and Nerad 1991 ( Fig. 2u )

Observation: Cells are elliptical, 11 to 16 µm long, dorso-ventrally flattened and flexible. There is a flexible sleeve around the base of the anterior flagellum. The anterior flagellum is about 0.5 times the cell length and the same thickness as the posterior one. The recurrent posterior flagellum is slightly longer than the cell and trails under the body, to which it attaches loosely in a slight groove. The nucleus is situated subapically near the right margin of the cell. Some cells have granules along side the recurrent flagellum. Relatively rare than Amastigomonas debruynei .

Remarks: This species has synonyms: Rhynchomonas mutabilis and Thecamonas mutabilis . It has been reported from marine sites in Agean Sea ( Turkey), Australia, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Greenland, Korea and North Atlantic with lengths of 7–16 µm ( Griessmann 1913; Ruinen 1938; Larsen and Patterson 1990; Vørs 1992b, 1993a; Patterson et al. 1993; Patterson and Simpson 1996; Tong 1997b; Tong et al. 1998; Lee and Patterson 2000; Al-Qassab et al. 2002; Lee 2002b, 2006b; Lee et al. 2003; Aydin and Lee 2012). It seems to be cosmopolitan. This species was characterised by the line of granules along side the posterior flagellum ( Larsen and Patterson 1990), but some cells lack the granules. Amastigomonas bermudensis Molina and Nerad 1991 is very similar to A. mutabilis in general appearance and their cell length. Further work is required to clarify the identities of these two species.

Figures

Fig. 2. a – Chilomastix cuspidata, showing general appearance of cell; b – Goniomonas amphinema, showing general appearance of cell; c – G. pacifica, note two flagella diverging; d – Percolomonas similis, note ventral groove; e – Bodo platyrhynchus; f – Neobodo curvifilus; g – N. saliens; h–i – Hemistasia phaeocysticola, note a papillum (arrow); j – Bordnamonas tropicana, showing general appearance and mouth (arrow); k – Rhynchomonas nasuta; l–o – Rhynchobodo simius; l – tubular ingestion organelle (arrow); m, o – showing groove; n – general appearance of cell; p–q – Rhynchopus amitus; r–s – Spironema multiciliatum; t – Amastigomonas debruynei, general appearance of cell; u – Amastigomonas mutabilis, note anterior flagellum projecting from sleeve and recurrent flagellum; v – Apusomonas sp.; w – Psammosa unguis nov. comb., general appearance of cell; x–y – Mantamonas plastica; x – note anterior flagellum (arrow) and y – ventral depression.All micrographs are DIC images. Scale bar: 5 µm for all figures.