Spirotaenia erythrocephala Itzigsohn

Ramos, Geraldo José Peixoto, Souza, Bruna Fadul De, Ribeiro, Sylvia Maria Moreira Susini & Moura, Carlos Wallace Do Nascimento, 2023, New insights into the diversity and distribution of the genus Spirotaenia (Mesotaeniaceae, Streptophyta) in the Neotropics, including the description of S. tetrahelica sp. nov., Phytotaxa 613 (1), pp. 29-38 : 31-33

Spirotaenia erythrocephala Itzigsohn in Braun (1856: 46) ( Figs. 6–10 , 13 )

Cells 6–8 times longer than wide, fusiform with rounded poles. Chloroplast broad, spiral, notably red at the ends. Cell dimensions: length 57–62 μm, width 6.5–7.5 μm.

Material examined: Brazil, Bahia State, municipality of Lençóis , 15/IX/2022, 12°30’31” S 41°29’11” W, G. J. P . Ramos et al. ( HUESC 26221 ) .

Ecology: metaphyton, puddle, backwater near Águas Claras waterfall; abiotic water data: pH 4.9, temperature 26.2 ºC, conductivity 10 μS/cm, TDS 0 ppm, ORP 431 mV.

Geographic distribution: Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Slovakia; United Kingdom ( Guiry & Guiry 2023); Africa: Mozambique ( Rino 1972); Asia: South Korea ( Guiry & Guiry 2023); India ( Animica & Palanisamy 2022), Turkey ( Akar & Avci 2022); North America: USA ( Matthews 2023); South America: Brazil (present study).

Note: The primary characteristic of S. erythrocephala is the presence of chloroplast with a wide parietal ribbon that terminate in a reddish portion at the apices. In our analysis, a substantial population was observed, with numerous individuals reproducing through binary division. However, no zygospores of this species were found.

In addition to the current record in Brazil, other reports of this species occurring outside of Europe are recent. Notably, Kim et al. (2020) documented its presence in South Korea, Animica & Palanisamy (2022) reported it in India, and Matthews (2023) observed representatives in northeast Washington ( USA).

Figures

FIGURES 1–10. New records of Spirotaenia for the Neotropics: 1–4. Spirotaenia tetrahelica sp nov., 5. S. beijerinckii. 6–10. S. erythrocephala. Scale bar: 20 μm.

FIGURES 11–18. Spirotaenia species reported for the Neotropics: 11. Spirotaenia tetrahelica sp nov; 12. S. beijerinckii; 13. S. erythrocephala; 14. S. condensata; 15. S. endospira; 16. S. closteridia; 17. S. minuta; 18. S. filiformis.