Difflugia

Pair of Difflugia lucida, copyright Angie Opitz.

Belongs within: Arcellinida.

Difflugia is a genus of testate amoebozoans found in freshwater lakes and ponds, with a test composed of a combination of pseudochitin and agglutinated foreign material. They are known in the fossil record from the Eocene (Loeblich & Tappan 1964).

Characters (from Loeblich & Tappan 1964): Test globular, elongate, pyriform, or acuminate, typically circular in section (length 15–450 µm, average approx. 100 µm); wall with pseudochitinous base and variable amounts of agglutinated material; aperture rounded , may be somewhat produced; protoplasm occupying most of test, attached internally by threads of ectoplasm; nucleus large, single; one or more contractile vacuoles; pseudopodia few, simple or bifid, of colourless ectoplasm, more rarely including some granular endoplasm.

<==Difflugia Leclerc in Lamarck 1816 (see below for synonymy) LT64
    |--*D. protoeiformis Lamarck 1816 [=D. (*Corticella) proteiformis, D. (*Eudifflugia) proteiformis] LT64
    |--D. acuminata Ehrenberg 1838 N03, LT64
    |    |--D. a. acuminata N03
    |    `--D. a. curvata N03
    |--D. constricta D01
    |--D. elegans N03
    |    |--D. e. elegans N03
    |    `--D. e. bicornis N03
    |--D. globularis Wallich 1864 [=D. (Reticella) globularis, *Odontodictya globularis] LT64
    |--D. globulosa Dujardin 1837 W86
    |--D. globulus (Ehrenberg 1848) [=Arcella globulus] LT64
    |--D. lanceolata SX97
    |--D. longum SX97
    |--D. lucida G86
    |--D. maroccana (Gauthier-Lièvre & Thomas 1958) [=*Pentagonia maroccana] LT64
    |--D. oblonga Ehrenberg 1838 LT64
    |--D. oviformis LT64
    |--D. penardi LNB03
    |--D. pristis LNB03
    |--D. pulex SX97
    |--D. pyriformis Perty 1848 LT64
    |--D. regularis (Jung 1942) [=*Schwabia regularis] LT64
    |--D. submarina Chardez & Thomas 1980 G86
    |--D. subterranea Golemansky 1970 [incl. D. subterranea var. inflata Decloître 1975] G86
    `--D. urceolata Carter 1864 W86

Difflugia Leclerc in Lamarck 1816 [=Corticella Ehrenberg 1872, Eudifflugia Diesing 1848; incl. Acipyxis Jung 1942 (n. n.), Globonota Jung 1942 (n. n.), Odontodictya Ehrenberg 1872, Pentagonia Gauthier-Lièvre & Thomas 1958 non Cozzens 1846, Planodifflugia Jung 1942 (n. n.), Pycnochila Jung 1942 (n. n.) non Horn 1905, Schwabia Jung 1942] LT64

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[D01] Daday, E. 1901. Édesvizi mikroszkópi állatok [Mikroskopische Süsswasserthiere]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 375–470. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[G86] Golemansky, V. G. 1986. Rhizopoda: Testacea. In: Botosaneanu, L. (ed.) Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) pp. 5–16. E. J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys: Leiden.

[LNB03] Ledeganck, P., I. Nijs & L. Beyens. 2003. Plant functional group diversity promotes soil protist diversity. Protist 154 (2): 239–249.

[LT64] Loeblich, A. R., Jr & H. Tappan. 1964. Sarcodina: chiefly “thecamoebians” and Foraminiferida. In Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt C. Protista 2 vol. 1. The Geological Society of America and The University of Kansas Press.

[N03] Nicholls, K. H. 2003. Form variation in Campascus minutus and a description of Campascus simcoei sp. n. (Testaceafilosea, Psammonobiotidae). European Journal of Protistology 39 (1): 103–112.

[SX97] Song B. & Xie P. 1997. Preliminary studies on the community structure of the planktonic protozoa from the outlet of Lake Dongting. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica 21 (Suppl.): 60–68.

[W86] Whitelegge, T. 1886. List of the freshwater Rhizopoda of N. S. Wales. Part I. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (2): 497–504.

Last updated: 29 November 2017.