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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Heleopera

Heleopera Leidy, 1879 (ref. ID; 3686)

Amoebozoa: Order Arcellinida: Family Hyalospheniidae (ref ID; 6728)

Class Tubuliniea: Order Arcellinida (Kent, 1880) (ref. ID; 6789)

Order Arcellinida Kent, 1980 (ref. ID; 6790)

Nebelinae Deflandre (ref. ID; 7501)

ref. ID; 1618

Test variously colored; fundus hemispherical, with sand-grains; surface covered with amorphous scales, often overlapping; aperture truncate, narrow, elliptic notches in narrow lateral view; a single nucleus; pseudopodia variable in number, thin digitate or branching; fresh water. (ref. ID; 1618)

ref. ID; 1923

With zoochlorellae in protoplasm. Shell of a yellowish tint. (ref. ID; 1923)

ref. ID; 3686

Shell colourless, yellow, brown, red or purple; ovoid; composed of oval, circular or rectangular siliceous shell-plates and usually having agglutinated mineral particles in the aboral region; aperture terminal, linear, surrounded by an organic border. (ref. ID; 3686)
  1. Heleopera alsiosa Couteaux & Chardez, 1981 (ref. ID; 2411 original paper)
  2. Heleopera caustica Couteaux (ref. ID; 2408 original paper)
  3. Heleopera cyclostoma Penard, 1902 (ref. ID; 3693)
  4. Heleopera lata (ref. ID; 2160)
  5. Heleopera minuta Decloitre, 1966 (ref. ID; 2062, 2081 original paper)
  6. Heleopera penardi Bonnet & Thomas (ref. ID; 2090) or Thomas (ref. ID; 3383)
  7. Heleopera petricola Leidy, 1879 (ref. ID; 661, 1618, 1923, 2110, 2301, 2304, 2329, 2330, 2441, 2456, 2489, 2498, 2558, 3223, 3382, 3686, 4766, 5461) reported year? (ref. ID; 3283, 3693, 5034, 7857)
  8. Heleopera petricola var. amethystea Penard (ref. ID; 1923, 2110, 2592, 3223, 3501, 3693)
  9. Heleopera petricola var. amethystia Penard, 1890 (ref. ID; 4664)
  10. Heleopera petricola var. humicola Bonnet & Thomas, 1955 (ref. ID; 2154, 3279), petrivola misspelling? var. humicola Bonnet & Thomas (ref. ID; 3383)
  11. Heleopera petricola var. major Cash, 1909 (ref. ID; 2441)
  12. Heleopera picta Leidy (ref. ID; 2329, 3283, 3693)
  13. Heleopera picta Penard (ref. ID; 7857)
  14. Heleopera rectangularis Bonnet (ref. ID; 2147, 2160, 2410, 3539, 5092 original paper)
  15. Heleopera rosea Penard, 1890 (ref. ID; 661, 1923, 2239, 2367, 2441, 3382, 3686, 4664) reported year? (ref. ID; 3283, 3693) reported author and year? (ref ID; 6728)
  16. Heleopera sphagni Leidy, 1874 (ref. ID; 6790) reported year? (ref. ID; 1923, 2058)
    Syn; Heleopera picta Leidy, 1879 (ref. ID; 1923, 2058)
  17. Heleopera sphagni bacillifera Grospietsch (ref. ID; 2379 original paper)
  18. Heleopera sphangi (Leidy, 1874) (ref. ID; 3686)
  19. Heleopera sylvatica Penard, 1890 (ref. ID; 2110, 2147, 2154, 2160, 2235, 2441, 4737, 5461) reported year? (ref. ID; 3595, 3693)
  20. Heleopera sylvatica var. inflata Schonborn, 1964 (ref. ID; 2057)

Heleopera petricola Leidy, 1879 (ref. ID; 661, 1618, 1923, 2110, 2301, 2304, 2329, 2330, 2441, 2456, 2489, 2498, 2558, 3223, 3382, 3686, 4766, 5461) reported year? (ref. ID; 3283, 3693, 5034, 7857)

Descriptions

Test variable in size and color, strongly compressed; fundus rough with sand-grains of various sizes; aperture linear or elliptic, convex in front view; pseudopodia slender, branching; in boggy places. (ref. ID; 1618)

Shell greyish or amethyst, strongly compressed, especially near the aperture. Covered with amorphous scales or siliceous plates which form a loose reticulation; with the fundus provided with sand grains. Outline subject to much variation, but generally the aperture is convex or, when cut straight across, more or less rounded at the corners. A common species. Habitat Sphagnum or moss in boggy places. (ref. ID; 1923)

The shell is brown, purple or violet, ovoid, laterally flattened and composed of siliceous shell plates and some particles of quartz. The outline of the shell is smooth and regular, the lateral margins usually being parallel or slightly convex in appearance. The aperture is terminal, slightly convex in broad view, and has an elliptical opening bordered by a thin collar of organic cement. (ref. ID; 3686)

Leidy's (1879) initial diagnosis: "test ovate, compressed, transparent, amorphous scales covering chitinoid membrane and presenting reticulated appearance, may have agglutinated foreign material at base; aperture narrow, elliptical, giving notched appearance in edge view". (ref. ID; 4766)

Comments

Several forms of this species have been described by Cash et al, (1909); Bonnet and Thomas (1955) which differ in size, structure and colour. Cash et al. (1909) suggest that variations in this species are such that they all tend to merge into each other. (ref. ID; 3686)

Measurements

Length 80-100 µm. (ref. ID; 1618, 1923)

Length of shell 76-84; breadth of shell 51-57; depth of shell 40-50; diameter of aperture 31-34 µm (n=2). (ref. ID; 3686)

Heleopera petricola var. amethystea Penard (ref. ID; 1923, 2110, 2592, 3223, 3501, 3693)

Descriptions

This species is larger than the type (length 115-120 µm) and of a pure amethystine tint. (ref. ID; 1923)

Heleopera rosea Penard, 1890 (ref. ID; 661, 1923, 2239, 2367, 2441, 3382, 3686, 4664) reported year? (ref. ID; 3283, 3693) reported author and year? (ref ID; 6728)

Descriptions

Shell vinous red, compressed, but not so strongly near the aperture as in H. sphagni. More robust and broader than H. petricola var. amethystea; corners of the aperture obtusely angular; shell vinous or rose-colored, lips yellow or sometimes lightish brown. Habitat mosses and Sphagnum in swamps. (ref. ID; 1923)

The shell is red, ovoid and laterally flattened. It is composed mainly of irregularly arranged siliceous shell plates, with only a few quartz particles or diatoms added to the aboral region. The aperture is terminal, angular in outline and appears to be a thin, linear slit, bordered by a thin band of organic cement. (ref. ID; 3686)

Measurements

Length 90-135 µm. (ref. ID; 1923)

Length of shell 117-128; breadth of shell 94-107; depth of shell 51-57; diameter of aperture 47-73 µm (n=7). (ref. ID; 3686)

Shell dimensions (n=10): length 107+/-2 µm, breadth 77+/-2 µm. (ref ID; 6728)

Heleopera sphagni Leidy, 1874 (ref. ID; 6790) reported year? (ref. ID; 1923, 2058)

Synonym

Heleopera picta Leidy, 1879 (ref. ID; 1923)

Descriptions

Shell broadly ovoid, regular in outline, compressed; chitinous membrane tinted yellowish (rarely brownish), with a surfacing of irregular transparent siliceous plates; fundus with little foreign material, often without. The presence of the chlorellae seems to be necessary to the life of the animal. Habitat Sphagnum swamps. (ref. ID; 1923)

Shell composition is agglutinate; position of aperture is terminal. (ref. ID; 6790)

Measurements

Length 100-140 µm. (ref. ID; 1923)

Shell dimensions (µm): length 80-145, breadth 50-120, depth 42-51, diameter of aperture 40-45. (ref. ID; 6790)

Heleopera sphangi (Leidy, 1874) (ref. ID; 3686)

Descriptions

The shell is yellow or brown, ovoid and laterally compressed. The sides diverge from the aperture to form a broad semi-circular aboral region, which is rough and composed mainly of sand grains. The anterior half of the shell is smooth and composed of siliceous shell plates. The aperture is terminal, slightly convex in broad view and is a narrow, linear opening bordered by a thin collar of organic cement. (ref. ID; 3686)

Comments

This species varies as much in size and shape as the other species of Heleopera, but it can usually be separated from them by the bordered and rougher aboral region and the narrow slit-like aperture. (ref. ID; 3686)

Measurements

Length of shell 94-108; breadth of shell 70-73; depth of shell 42-51; diameter of aperture 40-45 µm (n=3). (ref. ID; 3686)