Anabaena cf. alatospora Gonzalves & Kamat (1959)

Mcgregor, Glenn B., 2018, Freshwater Cyanobacteria of North-Eastern Australia: 3. Nostocales, Phytotaxa 359 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Anabaena cf. alatospora Gonzalves & Kamat (1959) Fig. 35 A–C .

Filaments single or entangled in loose mucilaginous clusters dispersed amongst aquatic plants and other algae. Trichomes flexuous, irregularly twisted, deeply constricted at the cross walls. Vegetative cells spherical to barrel-shaped, up to 1.6 × longer than wide, 3.0–5.0 μm long × 3.5–5.0 μm wide, with granulated blue-green contents; apical cells rounded and undifferentiated. Heterocytes intercalary, sub-spherical to cylindrical, up to 1.7 × longer than wide, 6.0–9.5 μm long × 3.5–6.0 μm wide. Akinetes solitary, intercalary, always remote from the heterocytes, rounded cylindrical, 15.5–24.0 μm long × 7.0–11.5 wide, endospore pale yellow-brown, exospore radially striated.

Specimens examined:—Amity Swamp, North Stradbroke Is., Rainbow Beach Fens at Great Sandy Natl Park, Cooloola Section.

Observations:—Growing amongst other algae and aquatic plants, in shallow, acidic, coastal wetlands and in the littoral area of perched lakes. A. alatospora was originally described from puddles in Mysore State, India where it formed mucilaginous mats, not singly dispersed or in small mucilaginous clusters as was observed for the material described here. However, the radially striated exospore is a distinctive common feature.

Figures

FIGURE 35. A–C Anabaena cf. alatospora; D Cronbergia siamensis. Scale bars = 20 μm