Pleurocapsa sp.

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 : 91

Pleurocapsa sp. ( Figs. 15A–15D ).

Round, elliptical, club-shaped cells, 4.1–22.4 µm diam., isolated or forming dense colonies. Pseudofilaments simple or dichotomous, uniseriate, 3–8 celled, 20.2–59.2 × 6.4–8.7 µm. Sheath firm, hyaline to blackish, conspicuous, nonlamellate, smooth. Baeocytes (many,>20 per cell) spherical, 2.4–2.8 µm diam. Cell content homogenous, green brownish to brown-purplish.

Habitat: —Dry concrete covered by dry soil.

Notes: —This morphotype was only found in culture. The morphological analyses showed that this population has the same life cycle of Pleurocapsa group I described by Waterbury & Stanier (1978). Most species of Pleurocapsa are originally described to marine environments, being Pleurocapsa muralis Lagerheim in Wittrock & Nordstedt (1893: 195) the only species described to a terrestrial environment. However, we could not access the original description of this species to confirm its resemblance with the Atlantic Rainforest population.

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 427340) .

Figures

FIGURES 15A–15D. Pleurocapsa sp. General colony habit and details of baeocytes (arrows). FIGURES 15E–15G. Chroococcidiopsis sp. General colony habit and details of baeocytes (arrows).