Telonema subtilis Griessmann 1913

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 : 69

Telonema subtilis Griessmann 1913 ( Fig. 4m )

Observation: Cell outline is oval-ovoid. Cells are about 8 µm long, anteriorly narrow and posteriorly broad with a short anterior neck. Two flagella insert below the neck, and are acronematic and slightly longer than the cell. The nucleus is centrally located. The cells swim backward with the flagella, which point behind the swimming cells. Food materials are shown in the posterior end of the cell. Not common. Three cells were observed.

Remarks: The observations are in accord with Griessmann (1913). This species has been found at marine sites in France, Mediterranean, Arctic Norway, Australia, Arctic Canada, Greenland, Japan, Belize and Gulf of Finland (Grieessmann 1913; Hollande and Cachon 1950; Throndson 1969, 1983; Vørs 1992a, b, 1993a, b; Patterson et al. 1993; Tong et al. 1998; Vørs et al. 1995; Lee et al. 2003), and has also been reported from a freshwater site in the Antarctic ( Tong et al. 1997). Previously cell lengths were observed to be 4 to 18 µm. Ultrastructural studies were conducted by Vørs (1992a) and Yabuki et al. (2013). This species is distinguished from Telonema antarctica Thomsen in Vørs 1992 by the cell shape. Telonema antarctica is reniforme.

Figures

Fig. 4. a – Carpediemonas membranifera; b – Kipferlia bialata; c – Discocelis saleuta, note a short flagellum; d – Metopion fluens, showing general appearance of cell, note shorter flagellum (arrow); e–f – Kurnaimonas celeris nov. spec., showing general appearance of cell; g – Pseudophyllomitus granulatus; h – Helkesimastix faecicola, showing general appearance and note short flagellum (arrow); i – Metromonas grandis, showing general appearance of cell and note the folded margin on the left side and short flagellum (arrow); j – Metromonas simplex, showing general appearance of cell and note short flagellum (arrow); k – Kiitoksia kaloista, showing two flagella and note short flagellum (arrow); l – Sinistermonas sinistrorsus nov. spec., showing general appearance of cell, and note flagellar insertion and beating pattern of anterior flagellum; m – Telonema subtilis, showing general appearance; n – Protist ‘1’. All micrographs are DIC images. Scale bar: 5 µm for all figures.