Protaspis tegere Larsen and Patterson, 1990

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 : 546

Protaspis tegere Larsen and Patterson, 1990

(fi gures 22k, 25a -d)

Description. Cell oblong, ovate or obovate, slightly fl attened, 14-25 Mm long and 8-14 Mm wide. The ratio of length to width is 1 to 0.7. In some cells the cell surface is warty. A longitudinal median ventral groove extends from the site of fl agellar insertion to the posterior end of the cell. Two fl agella, unequal in length; the anterior fl agellum inserts subapically in the slight depression and is as long as the cell. The posterior fl agellum inserts posterior to the anterior fl agellum and is about 1.5-2.5 times the cell length. The large nucleus is disc-shaped with anterior caps and is located anteriorly on the right-hand side or near the midline of the cell. Pseudopodia may be produced from the groove. Moves by gliding. Sometimes common. Description based on observations of 32 cells.

Remarks. Cells described here are in agreement with the original description by Larsen and Patterson (1990) although we have extended the size range from the previously reported 14-20 Mm. This species has been reported from marine sites in subtropical and tropical Australia, Fiji and Hawaii ( Larsen and Patterson, 1990; Ekebom et al., 1996; Tong et al., 1998). Protaspis tegere resembles P. glans in general appearance but is distinguished by the nuclear caps in P. tegere ( Larsen and Patterson, 1990) and by the position of nucleus. The position of the nucleus in Protaspis metarhiza Skuja, 1939 may change with the age of cells ( Skuja, 1939) and this may also be in the case of P. glans ( Larsen, 1985b) . Assuming that nuclear caps in P. glans have been overlooked in previous studies, P. tegere may prove to be a junior synonym of P. glans because they are distinguished only by the nuclear caps. Tong et al. (1998) described P. tegere without nuclear caps, but in their fi gure 9r the nuclear caps are shown. We note that in respect of nuclear caps the illustration is correct and the text is in error. Protaspis major Skuja, 1939 is distinguished from P. tegere due to it being larger (24-40 Mm) with an oblique ventral groove.