Nannotax3 - ntax_Farinacci - Chrysochromulina parva

Original descriptions of taxa. For coccolithophores, and many calcispheres, these are pages from the Farinacci & Howe Catalog of Calcareous Nannofossils. In other cases (e.g. non-calcifying haptophytes) the data is directly compiled on this site. The "Catalogue of Calcareous Nannofossils" was originally compiled by Prof A. Farinacci 1969-1989, since 2000 it has been updated and extended by Richard Howe - see The Farinacci and Howe Catalog - an Introduction.
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Citation: Chrysochromulina parva Lackey 1939

Farinacci catalog page (& compiler): n/a

Current citation: Chrysochromulina parva Lackey 1939

Cellulae minute, rotundatae, parte infera leviter excavatae, forma plus minusve variabiles; chromatophoris 2, in lateribus dispositis, colore luteo-fusco; vesicula contractili singula, anteriore; stigmate nullo; plasmate granulas parvas in posteriore parte praebente; flagellis 3, uno primario crassiore longiore ad anteriorem directo, secundariis duobus tenuioribus, brevioribus ad posteriorem directis. Cellulae lat. 3-5µ; crass. 2—3µ

Possibly seen many times, this minute flagellate was finally studied at a magnification of 1125 x when its numbers reached 2500 per ml. in Big Walnut Creek on October 13, 1938. Viewed vertically the cell is generally rounded, sometimes with a small posterior lobe. In cross section, the ventral surface is slightly insunk, but there is no gullet. This characteristic is slightly variable. The cytoplasm is clear and if there is a membrane, it is thin. Posteriorly a few small round refringent granules are located. No nucleus or stigma were seen. There is a simple vacuole in the anterior end behind the point of emergence of the flagella. Two chromatophores, peripheral, curved, of smooth contour and golden brown in color, are present.

There are three flagella, the anteriorly directed one is the heavier, 5 to 8 times as long as the cell and held rigid when the organism is at rest. Its beat is too fast to be determined in the rapid swimming motion. Two posteriorly directed, slightly shorter and more tenuous ones are present; often when at rest these are kept gently undulating. No evidence of reproduction was seen. Nutrition is evidently holophytic. Its distribution on October 13 and 21, 1938, was as follows: [table not copied here]

The classification of this flagellate is difficult. Its color, lack of a gullet and motility place it in the class Chrysophyceae. But its three flagella exclude it from the accepted families and necessitate setting up a new family, for which the name Chrysochromulinidae is proposed. The abundance and persistence of the organism and its appearance in other tributaries of the Scioto River would indicate that it is not a stage in the life history of some other organism.

References:

Lackey, J. B. (1939). Notes on plankton flagellates from the Scioto River. Lloydia. 2: 128-143. gs

CATALOG - Chrysochromulina parva

References:

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