Kinneret Algae Atlas

Phylum: Dinoflagellata
Class: Dinophyceae
Order: Peridiniales
Habitat: plankton, pelagial
Organization: flagellated single cells
Color: golden-brown
Cell shape: sphere
Cell diameter (D): (D): 13 - 18 µm, median: 15.5 µm (N=450)
Cell biovolume: 17500 - 4300 µm³, median: 2900 µm³.
Biovolume equation: V, µm³ = (4/3) π D³ (sphere)

Morphological features

This is a smaller variety of the species named today Parvodinium cunningtonii, with cell shape that is close to a sphere (Plate 1). It is common in the lake. It was named and counted as Peridiniopsis cunningtonii var. quinquecuspidata (Massart) Nygaard. Today, the variety is considered a species of its own, Peridiniopsis quinquecuspidata (Hansen and Flaim 2007) – but the organism they describe looks different to what we named Peridiniopsis cunningtonii var quinquecuspidata. As a result, we are uncertain about its correct taxonomic allocation and provide here no further data.

Plate 1. (a) Parvodinium cunningtonii; (b) The dinoflagellate we refer to as Peridiniopsis cunningtonii var quinquecuspidata. It looks similar to but smaller than P. cunningtonii. Photos: Alla Alster.

Cite this record as: Tamar Zohary, Alla Alster. 7 May 2026. Electronic publication. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research. https://kinneret-algae-atlas.org/ Searched on —.