Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 2713

Frederick C. Page; The genus Thecamoeba (Protozoa, Gymnamoebia) Species distinctions, locomotive morphology, and protozoan prey. J.Natural History 11:25-63, 1977

Reprint

In File

Notes

Nine soil, freshwater, and marine species of Thecamoeba have been isolated and investigated, and nine other probably or possibly valid species were reviewed from the literature. Locomotive form/behaviour and interphase nuclear structure are adequate to distinguish all known species, and on that basis the diagnoses of several species have been clarified and questions of possible synonymy resolved. Most known species can be placed into either a rugose or a smooth group, but it is not yet clear that the genus can be formally divided along that line. Feeding experiments and observations on six soil and freshwater species showed interspecific differences in the kind of protozoan prey ingested. Species also differed in their rate of multiplication in culture. One recently discovered species, T. proteoides, approaches Amoeba proteus in both morphological and cultural characteristics more than does any other known species of Thecamoeba but is clearly a member of the latter genus.