- 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 epitheca and hypotheca are both half-sphere shaped, making together a sphere. The cingulum surrounds the cell at its middle (Plates 1a,b, 2). The sulcus is wide and does not reach the antapex. Chloroplasts are numerous, disc or club shaped and parietal. A stigma is present. Vegetative cells are often embedded in mucilage. Thecae 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).
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: Tamar Zohary, Alla Alster. 7 May 2026. Electronic publication. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research. https://kinneret-algae-atlas.org/ Searched on —.