Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 HOL

Archontikis, Odysseas A., Young, Jeremy R. & Cros, Lluïsa, 2020, Taxonomic Revision and Classification of Extant Holococcolithophores Previously Placed in the Genus Anthosphaera Kamptner emend. Kleijne 1991, Acta Protozoologica 59 (3 - 4), pp. 121-139 : 125-126

Species Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 HOL

Syracosphaera molischii var. pertusa Archontikis, Young, Cros var. nov. HOL

Synonymy: Anthosphaera fragaria Kamptner emend. Kleijne (1991) , Winter and Siesser (1994), p. 148, Fig. 164; Aubry (1999), p. 247, Fig. 4 .

Anthosphaera cf. fragaria Kamptner 1937 emend. Kleijne 1991 , Cros (2001), p. 80, Pl. 55, Fig. 4 ; Cros and Fortuño (2002), p. 59, Fig. 86C.

Syracosphaera molischii Schiller 1925 HOL , Godri- jan et al. (2018), p. 1703, Fig. 9; Skejić et al. (2018), p. 41, Fig. 8b.

Derivatio nominis: From Latin pertusus –a –um (adjective), perforated; referring to the somewhat large perforations of the BCs and the large ones at the base of the CFCs’ leaf-life process.

Description: Coccosphere, usually spherical in shape, consisting of c. 50–80 BCs and c. 5–10 CFCs. BCs elliptical; rim is connected to an elliptical central structure by c. 10–15 radial crystal struts of one large crystal width leaving large perforations at the perforate cycle that are consistently present. The central dome-like distal cover is formed of large angular crystallites, which are mostly arranged following the long axis. CFCs elliptical; rim is two to three crystals wide and is connected with a high and broad single-layered arched leaf-like process, made of delicate angular microcrys- tallites. At the base of the process, several (usually 5) large perforations, can be distinguished.

Remarks: S. molischii var. pertusa HOL is primarily separated from S. molischii var. molischii HOL by the larger size of the perforations on the BCs and by the presence of large perforations on the CFCs at the base of the process. In addition, the BCs of S. molischii var. pertusa are smaller and more narrowly elliptical.

Dimensions: Coccosphere diameter c. 5.5 μm; BCs c. 0.8 μm long x 0.6 μm wide. CFCs c. 0.7–0.8 μm long; distal process c. 2.0 μm high.

Holotype: Digital image 151705 ( Plate 1 , Fig. 4 ), deposited at ICM (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.

Paratype: Specimens illustrated at Plate 1 , Figs. 5–6.

Type locality: Station Hivern-99 25, 60 m wa- ter depth, collected from the NW Mediterranean Sea (40.82ºN, 2.75ºE) on 26 February 1999.

Number of specimens studied: 8

Distribution: Sub-tropical waters.

Figures

Plate 1. Syracosphaera molischii Schiller HOL Scale bars = 1μm

Plate 3. Scale bars = 1μm 1–2. Syracosphaera lafourcadii (Lecal) Archontikis, Young, Cros comb. nov. HOL Complete coccospheres composed of CFCs that bear low distal processes (see arrows) and BCs with distal covers made of irregularly ar- ranged crystallites. 3–4. Syracosphaera origami (Cros and McGrane) Archontikis, Young, Cros comb. nov. HOL Coccospheres with highly ornamented CFCs showing triangle-shaped distal processes (fig. 3, arrow) and BCs with an organic base-plate in proximal view (fig. 4, arrow a) and a rim that supports delicate struts of crystallites holding the origami-like paper boat distal covers (fig. 4, arrow b) in distal view.