Entophysalis sp. 2

Jr, Watson Arantes Gama, Iv, Haywood Dail Laughinghouse & Sant’Anna, Célia Leite, 2014, How diverse are coccoid cyanobacteria? A case study of terrestrial habitats from the Atlantic Rainforest (São Paulo, Brazil), Phytotaxa 178 (2), pp. 61-97 : 86-89

Entophysalis sp. 2 (Figs. 13A–13B).

Polarized, lobate to irregular dense colonies, 38.6–125.4 µm length. Sheath firm, hyaline to yellowish, conspicuous, homogeneous, smooth. Cells spherical, hemispherical to polygonal, 3.6–7.6 µm diam. Cell content granulated, vacuolelike, green to olive green.

Habitat: —Wet concrete covered with plants.

Notes: —This morphotype is distinguishable by its dense celled colonies, surrounded by a rigid and wide sheath, in addition to the cell content color and vacuole-like structures.

Studied material: — BRAZIL. São Paulo: São Luís do Paraitinga, State Park of “Serra do Mar” ( Santa Virgínia ), 23º 20’ 36” S, 45º 7’ 44” W, 24 February 2010, W.A. Gama-Jr. (SP 401422, SP 401423) .

Unidentified Entophysalidaceae (Figs. 13C–13E).

Polarized, arboriform, lobed, round to irregular colonies, 43.4–277.0 µm length, with cells agglomerated at the periphery (lobes) and sparse inside. Sheath firm, hyaline inside the colonies to intensely violet to orange brown at the colonies’ edge, conspicuous, lamellate, smooth to finely granulated, with holes. Cells spherical, hemispherical to ellipsoidal, 3.4–6.1 µm diam. Cell content granulated, vacuole-like, green to blue-green.

Habitat: —Wet rocks.

Notes: —The morphotype found has a colonial structure very similar to Placoma regulare Broady & Ingerfeld (1991: 548) . This species was described for New Zealand and despite being in the genus Placoma Schousboe ex Bornet & Thuret (1876: 4) , it differs substantially from P. vesiculosum Schousboe in Bornet & Thuret (1876: 4), the type-species of the genus. We believe that P. regulare and the Atlantic Rainforest population are a putative new genus, characterized by the lobed colonies with cells disposed mainly at the edge, being surrounded by firm and perforated sheaths. According to the erect thalli, this new genus should belong to the family Entophysalidaceae .

FIGURES 13A–13B. Entophysalis sp. 2 FIGURES 13C–13E. Unidentified Entophysalidaceae . 13C–13D. General colony habit showing the color variation. 13E. Detail of the perforated mucilage (arrow).

Studied material: — BRAZIL. São Paulo: São Luís do Paraitinga, State Park of “Serra do Mar” ( Santa Virgínia ), 23º 20’ 35” S, 45º 8’ 17” W, 24 February 2010, W.A. Gama-Jr. (SP 401431), Peruíbe, Ecological Station “Juréia-Itatins”, 24° 22.783’ S, 47° 1.287’ W, 16 August 2011, W.A. Gama-Jr., G.S. Hentschke, C.F.S. Malone & C.L. Sant’Anna (SP 427312) .