Mantamonas plastica Glücksman and Cavalier-Smith 2011

Lee, Won Je, 2015, Small Free-Living Heterotrophic Flagellates from Marine Sediments of Gippsland Basin, South-Eastern Australia, Acta Protozoologica 54 (1), pp. 53-76 : 62-63

Mantamonas plastica Glücksman and Cavalier-Smith 2011 ( Figs 1g , 2x–y )

Observation: Cell outline is rhombic to oval. Cells are 3 to 4 µm long, flexible and flattened. The very fine anterior flagellum arises at the anterior end of the cell, is directed to the left and about the cell length. The posterior flagellum arises from a depression about one third of the cell length from the anterior end, appears to lie in a ventral groove or tightly adhere to the cell body and is 2 to 2.5 times the cell length. At times, cytoplasmic strands appear behind the posterior end of the cell. The cells glide slowly on the substrate. Not common and observed at Sts 31 and 41.

Remarks: Recently, this species was found from a marine site in England ( Glücksman et al. 2011). It can be confused from some other species in Cercomonas because it has a flexible body, strands of cytoplasm from the posterior end of the cell and gliding movements, but can be distinguished by its smaller size, cell shape and flagellar orientation.

Figures

Fig. 1. a – Chilomastix cuspidata, b – Rhynchopus amitus, c – Spironema multiciliatum, d – Psammosa unguis nov. comb., e – Apusomonas sp., f – Rhynchobodo formica, g – Mantamonas plastica, h – Roombia truncata, i – Thaumatomastix setifera, j – Ancyromonas impluvium nov. spec., k – Helkesimastix faecicola, l – Kurnaimonas celerisnov. spec., m – Sinistermonas sinistrorsus nov. spec., n – Kiitoksia kaloista, o – Protist ‘1’. Scale bar: 10 µm for all figures.

Fig. 2. a – Chilomastix cuspidata, showing general appearance of cell; b – Goniomonas amphinema, showing general appearance of cell; c – G. pacifica, note two flagella diverging; d – Percolomonas similis, note ventral groove; e – Bodo platyrhynchus; f – Neobodo curvifilus; g – N. saliens; h–i – Hemistasia phaeocysticola, note a papillum (arrow); j – Bordnamonas tropicana, showing general appearance and mouth (arrow); k – Rhynchomonas nasuta; l–o – Rhynchobodo simius; l – tubular ingestion organelle (arrow); m, o – showing groove; n – general appearance of cell; p–q – Rhynchopus amitus; r–s – Spironema multiciliatum; t – Amastigomonas debruynei, general appearance of cell; u – Amastigomonas mutabilis, note anterior flagellum projecting from sleeve and recurrent flagellum; v – Apusomonas sp.; w – Psammosa unguis nov. comb., general appearance of cell; x–y – Mantamonas plastica; x – note anterior flagellum (arrow) and y – ventral depression.All micrographs are DIC images. Scale bar: 5 µm for all figures.