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Durinskia oculata (Stein) Gert Hansen et Flaim 2007

Previous name used

Peridiniopsis oculatum (Stein) Bourrelly 1968

(Previously referred to as Glenodinium oculatum Stein 1883)

Phylum
Dinoflagellata
Class
Dinophyceae
Order
Peridiniales
Habitat
plankton, mostly littoral
Organization
single cells
Color
yellow to golden-brown
Cell shape
ovoid or spherical
Cell diameter (D)
17 - 26 μm, median: 22 μm (N=700)
Cell biovolume
2600 - 9500 μm3, median: 5300 μm3.
Biovolume equation
V, μm3 = (4/3) π (D/2)3. (sphere equation)

Morphological features

Cells are ovoid or spherical and slightly flattened dorsiventrally. The and are both half-sphere shaped, making together a sphere. The surrounds the cell at its middle (Plates 1a,b, 2). The is wide and does not reach the . Chloroplasts are numerous, disc or club shaped and . A is present. Vegetative cells are often embedded in mucilage. are barely seen on live cells therefore it was initially considered to be Glenodinium, a naked dinoflagellate, but the theca is evident after the cell sheds it (Plate 1c, 4).
Durinskia oculata (Stein) Gert Hansen et Flaim 2007 — plate 1 (from source)
Plate 1. Durinskia oculata, (a) vegetative cell, (b) protoplast that has emerged out of its theca, (c) the empty thecae. Photos: Alla Alster.
Durinskia oculata (Stein) Gert Hansen et Flaim 2007 — plate 2 (from source)
Plate 1. Six cells of Durinskia oculata. A non-pigmented parasitic chytrid is attached to the rightmost cell. Photo: Alla Alster.
Durinskia oculata (Stein) Gert Hansen et Flaim 2007 — plate 3 (from source)
Plate 4. Hand drawings of Durinskia oculata from Popovsky and Pfiester 1990.

Ecology

Durinskia oculata is rare in the pelagic water, it appeared in our samples in 1973-1975, then disappeared for many years, to re-appear for a short time in May 2000 and then again in June 2005. It appears more often in littoral samples. Little is known about this species.

Cite this record as: Dr. Tamar Zohary, Dr. Alla Alster. 16 June 2026. Electronic publication. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research. https://kinneret-algae-atlas.org/ Searched on —.

Further reading

  1. Popovsky J, Pfiester LA. 1990. Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa. Dinophyceae (Dinoflagellida). Vol. 6 pp. 1-272. Jena & Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer.

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