Asterocapsa 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 : 69

Asterocapsa sp. 2 ( Figs. 4G–4I ).

Round, elongated to irregular colonies, 5.5–79.7 µm diam., isolated or in groups. Sheath firm, hyaline to reddishbrown and violet, conspicuous, rarely lamellate, smooth to granulate. Cells ellipsoid to irregular, 3.8–5.7 × 2.5–3.9 µm. Spores dark reddish-brown, solitary, 5.4–7.4 × 3.5–5.6 µm. Cell content granulated, green to blue-green.

Habitat: —Dry concrete wall.

Notes: — Asterocapsa sp. 2 is a peculiar morphotype since the granulation in its sheaths are rarely observed, seen only under immersion (1000x). Despite this, the Atlantic Rainforest population has the typical life cycle described for Asterocapsa Chu (1952: 97) , and differs from other species by sheath color, elliptical shape, and cell dimensions.

Studied material: — BRAZIL. São Paulo: Peruíbe, Ecological Station “Juréia-Itatins”, 24° 23.013’ S, 47° 4.836’ W, 17 August 2011, W.A. Gama-Jr., G.S. Hentschke, C.F.S. Malone & C.L. Sant’Anna (SP 427324) ; 24° 22.739’ S, 47° 4.719’ W, W.A. Gama-Jr., G.S. Hentschke, C.F.S. Malone & C.L. Sant’Anna (SP 427333) ; Cananéia, State Park of “Ilha do Cardoso” ( Perequê ), 25º 4’ 8” S, 47º 55’ 12.24” W, 29 June 2010, W.A. Gama-Jr. & C.F.S. Malone (SP 401440, SP 401438) .

Figures

FIGURES 4A. Coelosphaeriopsis sp. General aspect of a colony and detail of cells in individual envelopes (arrow).