Desmatractum bipyramidatum (Chodat) Pascher 1930

W. A. Kowalski, Wojciech, 2022, DesmatraCtum bipyramidatum (Chodat) Pascher 1930 (Chlorophyceae, Chlorococcales) - a new locality in Poland, Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae 7, pp. 53-59 : 55-57

Desmatractum bipyramidatum (Chodat) Pascher 1930

Basionym: Bernardinella bipyramidata Chodat 1921 . Bull, Soc. Bot. Geneva, ser. 2, 12; Fusiform cells ( Fig.2 ), widened in the equatorial plane into a ring surrounding the cell, tapering conically towards the apexes and stretched on both sides into short appendages, sharply rounded at the ends. The total length of cells 23.6–28.6 µm, width in the equatorial plane 10.2–12.9 µm, length of the apical processes 4.2–4.5 µm. Cell wall smooth, colourless or slightly reddish with 5–8 ribbed projections along the long axis of the cell. In plan, the cells are round with slightly concave walls between the ribbed projections. The inside of the cell is a spherical protoplast 7.7–9.7 µm in diameter, with a chloroplast containing one clearly visible pyrenoid and several (usually 4–6) distinct grains with a diameter of 0.6–0.7 µm. The shape of the cells is identical to D. bipyramidatum sensu Skuja (1964) . Taper more or less evenly conically towards the ends, drawn into a short spike, rounded at the top.

In the collected material, D. bipyramidatum cells were observed only in two samples collected during the summer period, when the water level was stabilised and not too high. Their occurrence, however, was sporadic. These were 6–8 cell clusters. In spring and autumn, the depressions are flooded with water and are characterised by completely different ecological conditions. Reporting the occurrence of the species on different continents indicates that it is a taxa with a cosmopolitan range, but very rarely observed. Distribution

Distribution in Poland

According to the information contained in the study ( Siemińska, Wołowski, 2003) and in the icon library and species records of the Department of Algology, IB PAN in Krakow, the occurrence of Desmatractum bipyrimidatum has been recorded so far only in the Tatra Mountains from the peat bog in the valley Dolina Pięciu Stawów ( Mrozińska, 1984). In unpublished materials from the peat bogs of the Śnieżka region in Karkonsze, it is mentioned by Matuła. The site from Western Pomerania is therefore the second documented place of its occurrence in Poland.

DesmatraCtum

bipyramidatum

General distribution

(

D. bipyramidatum cells have so far been found in marshy habitats of peat bogs in Central Europe; this species should be considered cosmopolitan in the area ( Tsarenko et al., 2011; Guiry, Guiry, 2022). There are known localities from this region in Bulgaria ( Vodeničarov, 1960), Sweden (Suja, 1964), Great Britain ( Lund, 1942), and the Tyrolean Alps ( Ettl, 1968). According to Komarek and Fott (1983), the localisations of D. bipyramidatum were noted also from Denmark, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, and the territory of the former USSR ( Koršikov, 1953). Outside Europe, single D. bipyramidatum sites are also known from the state of Michigan in the USA ( Taft, 1939, Prescott, 1962), New Zealand ( Skuja, 1976); Asia ( China, Japan, Russia); South West Asia ( Bangladesh, India); Africa ( Ivory Coast); Australia, Papua New Guinea ( Guiry, Guiry, 2022). Prescott (1962) believes that the taxon is definitely related to the acidic habitats of peat bogs.

Figures

Fig.2. Desmatractum bipyramidatum sensu Skuja (1964) from a high Atlantic peat bog in the Goleniów Forest (original)