Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 30 ( 1) : 52- 56 ( Jan.

, 2005)

ISSN 10000739
This work was supported by t he now!ed"e Inno#at ion $ro"ram o% t he &hinese Academy o% Sciences ( S&' 2206) , the Nat iona! Nat ura! Sci
ence (oundation o% &hina ( 30270185) and t he (oundation o% )on"hu *xperiment a! Stati on o% +ake *cosystems, the &hinese Academy o% Sciences
( 200202) .
* &orrespondin" author.
,ecei#ed 20 -ay 2004, accepted 17 Sep. 2004.
52
MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TWO NEWRECORDS OF THE GENUS
DI FFLUGIA FROMCHINA ( ARCELLINIDA, DIFFLUGIIDAE)
.AN/ Jun
1, 2, 3
, S0*N .un(en
2*
, (*N/ 1eiSon"
2
1Donghu Experi ment al St ati on of Lake Ecosystems , Chinese A cademy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
2Laboratory of Taxonomy and Ecology of Prot ooa, ! nst it ut e of "ydrobi ology , Chi nese A cademy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, Chi na
3#raduate School of t he Chi nese Academy of Scie nces , $ei% ing, Chi na
Abst ract Two %reshwater testate amoebae, Di f f l ugi a a cumi n at a mag n a )e%! andre, 1926 and D . p aul i i 2"den, 1983, i so
! ated %rom +ake 3i hu, 0ubei $ro#i nce, &hi na on 17 (eb. 2004, were i n#esti"ated in detai! by scannin" e!ectron microscopy.
The two taxa are both %irst recorded %rom &hina, and their morpho!o"ies and measurements are supp!ied. 2ur resu!ts show that
D . acumi n at a m agn a is easi! y distin"ui shed %rom D . acum in a ta acumi n at a by its patterni n" o% the or"ani c cement.
Key wr!s $roto4oa, Dif f l ug ia acumi n at a ma gn a , Di f f l ugi a p aul ii , new records.
The "enus Dif f lugi a +ec!erc, 1815 contains the
!ar"est number o% species amon" the test ate amoebae.
-ore than 300 species and about 200 subspecies, #ari
eties, or %orms o% t he "enus ha#e been described up to
now ( -eist er% e!d, 2000 ) . /authier+i#re and
Thomas ( 1958) in their in#esti"ation o% t he A%rican
Dif f lugi a species ha#e di#ided this "enus int o ten
"roups based on the morpho!o"y o% the she!!: !obed,
co!!ared, compressed, urceo!at e, "!obose, o#oid"!o
bose, e!on"ate, acute an"!ed, horned and pyri% orm. In
&hina, on!y 72 species and subspecies o% this "enus
ha#e been recorded ( .an" et al . , 2004) . In t he pre
sent paper, two % reshwater taxa o% t he "enus Dif f lu
gia , D . ac umin a ta ma gn a )e% !andre be!on"s to the
acut e an"!ed "roup and D. pauli i be!on"s to the e!on
"ate "roup, were announced % or the %irst time to the
testate amoebae % auna o% &hina. Their morpho!o"ica!
and biometrica! characteri4ation were made usin" a
!i"ht and scannin" e!ectron microscope. A!! specimens
were co!!ect ed by )r. Z0AN/ 1enJin" usin" p!ank
t on net with 64 m mesh in the sur% ace water % rom t he
ed"e o% +ake 3ihu, 0ubei $ro#ince, &hina, 17 (eb.
2004.
Dif f lugi a acuminata magna De"#a$!re, 1926
( (i"s12, 56)
Dif f lu gia acu minat a magna )e% !andre, 1926. Bull . Soc . Zool . Fr . ,
51: 519, % i". 45 /authier+i#re and Thomas, 1958. Ar ch . Prot is
tenk . , 103: 324, % i". 44d5 &harde4, 1961. Bu ll . In st . Agron .
Stns . Rec h . Gemblou x , 29: 306, p!. , % i". 25 /reen, 1963.
Pr oc . Zool . Soc . on! . , on !on , 141: 504, % i". 275 6ucet ich,
1973. Re" . #us . a Plat a $ %u e"a Ser . & Sec c . Zool . , 11: 308,
p!. , %i". 375 6ucet ich and +oprett o, 1995. ,hi4opoda ( Tes
t aceos) , % i". 145 6e!ho and +ansacTha, 1996. St u! . %eot rop .
Faun a 'n"ir on . , +isse, 31: 186, p!. !, % i". 15.
)escription. The she!! is usua!!y brown, opa7ue,
ob!on" pyri% orm or cy!indrica!5 5662 apert ure di
ameters in !en"th5 s!i"ht!y en!ar"ed in the posterior
and is circu!ar in cross section. The body swe!!s "radu
a!!y % rom t he aperture. It is broadest in the posit ion o%
the posterior wit h "reatest width 1517 aperture di
ameters, and then narrowin" abrupt !y towards a dis
tinct acut e horn. The she!! wa!! is composed o% sand
"rains o% #arious si4es and rare!y with %ra"ments o% di
atoms t o produce an intermediat e rou"h sur%ace. The
aperture is circu!ar and main!y surrounded by sma!!
partic!es that "i#e it an irre"u!ar mar"in ( (i"s1, 2,
5) . Sma!! areas o% or"anic cement are sometimes #isi
b!e as a thick wa!!ed network with a mesh 0304 m
in diamet er and wa!!s 015025 m thick ( (i"6) .
Tab!e 1 shows t he ran"e o% measurements % or D.
ac umin ata mag na accordin" to di% %erent authors.
Geogr aphi cal !ist ribution . A!"eria ( /authier
+i#re and Thomas, 1958) , Ar"entina ( 6ucetich,
1973, 6ucetich and +opretto, 1995 ) , 8e!"ium
( &harde4, 1961) , 8ra4i! ( 6e!ho and +ansacTha,
1996) , &hina ( present work) , (rance ( &harde4,
1961) , 0aut e6o!t ( /authier+i#re and Thomas,
1958) , Ni"eria ( /reen, 1963) , 6ene4ue!a ( )e%!an
dre, 1926) .
,emarks. The present specimens a"ree we!! with
those identi% ied by )e% !andre ( 1926) . D. ac umin ata
ma gn a was described as a #ariet y o% D. a cumin ata by
)e% !andre ( 1926) , but accordin" to the Internationa!
&ode o% Zoo!o"ica! Nomenc!at ure ( I&ZN) , artic!e 16,
it has been raised t o a subspecies. Accordin" to )e% !an
dre ( 1926) , D. ac umin a ta ma gn a cou!d be di% % eren
tiated % rom the nomina! subspecies, D. ac umin ata
ac umin a ta , by its !ar"er si4e t hat is in excess o% 300 m
and by its possession o% a strai"ht !on" abora! horn. At
a !ater time, a% ter ha#in" care%u!!y re#iewed the dia"
nost ic % eatures o% D. a cumin ata and its 12 #a
rieties#, &harde4 ( 1961) stated that D. ac umin ata
ac umin a ta a!so has a strai"ht abora! horn and D.
ac umin at a magn a di% %ers % rom the typica! % orm on!y in
its "reater si4e o% the she!! !en"th and the diameter o%
the apert ure. 0owe#er, 2"den ( 1979) showed that
both she!! !en"th and aperture diameter appeared to be
use%u! % or dia"nostic purposes, but measurements on
their own were insu%% icient to be used in the identi% ica
t ion o% species o% Dif f l ugia . In % act , D. ac umin ata
ac umin a ta is somet imes "reater t han 300 m !en"t h
( 2"den, 1979) . There% ore, it is di%% icu!t to distin
"uish D. ac umin ata magn a %rom D. ac umin ata
ac umin a ta . In 1979, 2"den ( 1979 ) i!!ustrated that
D. ac umi na ta a cumin ata has an apparent!y uni7ue
or"anic cement pattern by usin" scannin" e!ectron mi

(i"s12. Dif f l ugi a acum in a ta ma gn a . 1 +atera! #i ew.
2 Apertura! #i ew. (i"s 34. Dif f l ug ia p aul i i . 3+atera!
#iew. 4 Apertura! #iew.
Tab#e 1% Meas&re'e$ts ( ($ ') " Difflugia acuminata magna accr!($) t !(" "ere$t a&t*rs%
Aut hors She!! !en"th ( +) She!! breadth ( 8) Aperture diameter ( )) 89 + )9 +
)e% !andre, 1926 360 96
/authier+i#re and Thomas, 1958 338390 90100
/reen, 1963 328
6ucetich, 1973 340360 100110 5866
$resent work ( n = 5) 360382 94108 5968 026028 016018
croscope. In D. ac umi na ta ac umin ata t he diameter o%
the mesh is about 1012 m, the net has thickened
wa!!s ( 0405 m thick) with a seemin"!y thin con
nection membrane bet ween t he mesh. The connect in"
membrane has a sma!!er re"u!ar network wit h mesh
015020 m in diameter and wa!!s 010015 m
thick. 2ur resu!ts show that D. a cumin ata magn a has
a structura!!y di% % erent or"anic cement. The diameter
o% mesh and thickness o% the net wa!! in D. ac umin ata
ac umin at a are bot h approximat e!y 23 t imes as !ar"e
compared with those in D. ac umi n ata magn a respec
t i#e!y ( Tab!e 3) . (urther, in D. ac umi n ata magn a ,
the connectin" membrane !acks the sma!!er re"u!ar net
work ( (i"6) . Tab!e 3 a!so shows that the aperture di
ameter in D. acumin ata magn a is !ar"er than that o%
D. ac umi na ta a cumin ata . The present obser#ations
show t hat D. a cumin ata mag na is easi!y distin"uished
% rom D. ac umin ata a cumin ata by its patt ernin" o% the
or"anic cement.
Di ff l ugia paul ii O)!e$, 1983 ( (i"s34, 78)
Di f f l ugia oblo nga #ar. elon gat a 2ye, 1953. Bi ol . (aarb . , 20: 178,
%i". 215 /aut hier+i#re and Thomas, 1958. Ar ch . Proti st en k. ,
103: 316, %i"s. 39c, d5 /racia, 1972. Pu bln es Ins t . Bi ol . Apl .
Barc elona , 52: 5425 +amin"er, 1973. Sc h)ei* . Z. +,!rol . , 35:
239246.
Di f f l ugia pau li i 2"den, 1983. Bu ll . Br . #u s . %at . +is t . $ Zool . & ,
44: 17, %i"s. 11ad5 2"den, 1984. Bu ll . Br . #u s . %at . +is t .
$ Zool . & , 47: 250, % i"s. 23, 24.
)escription. The she!! is ye!!owish t o brownish,
semitransparent, s!im and e!on"ate ci"arshape, 40
61 aperture diameters in !en"th, circu!ar in cross sec
tion, taperin" e#en!y %rom :ust ant erior o% t he mid
body re"ion towards the apert ure. The post erior re"ion
is s!i"ht!y swo!!en, its "reatest width 1521 aperture
53 an! " 2005 # $ " %

(i"s 56. S*- photo"raphs o% Di f f l ugi a acumi n at a mag n a . 5+atera! #iew. 6 She!! sur%ace showin" the
arran"ement o% parti c! es and the or"anic cement ( arrow) . Sca!es bar: 5= 50 m, 6= 2 m. (i "s78.
S*- photo"raphs o% Di f f l ugi a p aul i i . 7 +atera! #iew. 8 She! ! sur%ace showi n" the arran"ement o% %!at
tish partic!es and the or"ani c cement ( arrow) . Sca!es bar: 7= 50 m, 8= 2 m.
diameters, and is cur#in" sharp!y and smooth!y at the abo
ra! end. The she!! wa!! is composed o% sma!! to medium
%!attish pieces o% 7uart4 to "i#e a smooth appearance, with
sma!! areas o% or"anic cement o%ten apparent as part o% the
54 Acta &''ta('n'mica )inica *'l! 30 +'! 1
matrix. The aperture is circu!ar and surrounded by a re"u
!ar arran"ement o% sma!! pieces o% 7uart4 ( (i"s 3, 4, 7 ) .
The cement has a re"u!ar structure that appears tobe made
o% unconnected sma!! per%orated cones which are about
050065 m in diameter, and the per%orations are about
010015 m in diameter ( (i"8) . Tab!e 2 shows the
ran"e o% measurements %or D. paulii accordin" to di%% er
ent authors.
Tab#e 2% Meas&re'e$ts ( ($ ') " Difflugia paulii accr!($) t !("" ere$t a&t*rs%
Aut hors She!! !en"th ( +) She!! breadth ( 8) Aperture diameter ( )) 89 + )9 +
/authier+i#re and Thomas, 1958 130142 3840 2837
2"den, 1983 ( n = 4) 119130 4854 1923 040% 001 017% 001
2"den, 1984 ( n = 5) 85130 2846 1422
present work ( n = 9) 110168 3754 1834 031041 016025
/eo"raphica! distribution. Aust ria ( +amin"er,
1973) , 8e!"ium ( 2ye, 1953 ) , 8ritain ( 2"den,
1983) , &hina ( present work) , &on"o ( /authier
+i#re and Thomas, 1958) , Spain ( /racia, 1972) ,
S#a!bard ( 8eyens and &harde4, 1995 ) , .u"os!a#ia
( 2"den, 1984) .
,emarks. Accordin" t o 2ye ( 1953) , who %irst
obser#ed and described this taxon as Di f f lug ia oblon ga
#ar. el on gata based on the specimens % rom 8e!"ium,
this species was s!ender in comparison with D. lac us
tri s ( $enard) 2"den, and he considered that this % ea
t ure and the !imited "rains o% 7uart4 in the she!! were
su%% icient to warrant a new #ariet y. Amon" the
e!on"ated species, D . oblon ga #ar. elon gata in body
!en"th appears to occupy a posit ion midway between
D. lin eari s /authier+i#re and Thomas, 1958 and
D. lac ust ris . 0owe#er, 2"den ( 1983) showed that it
is dist inct %rom t hose two simi!ar species in out!ine, e!e
menta! composition and patternin" o% t he or"anic ce
ment ( Tab!e 3) . In addition, t he bi""er si4e ( 1834
m) o% the aperture distin"uishes this species % rom D.
li n ear is , which has aperture 1213 m in diameter.
8esides, t his taxon cou!d be di% %erentiated % rom D.
oblon ga *hrenber", 1838 by it s sma!!er si4e, by its
smooth appearance and by it s patternin" o% the or"anic
cement ( Tab!e 3) . So, D. oblon ga #ar. elon ga ta was
e!e#ated %rom a #ariety t o a distinct species, and
named a%t er )r. $au! #an 2ye by 2"den ( 1983) . 2ur
resu!ts show t he morpho!o"ica! characters o% the speci
mens %rom &hina a"ree we!! with those reported % rom

Tab#e 3% Mr+*#)(ca# c'+ar(s$ " t*e s*e## " se,era# Difflugia s+ec(es% a## 'eas&re'e$t s ($ '% (- !at a $t a,a(#
ab#e) %
She!!
D . acu mi nata
ac uminat a
D. ac umin ata
magna
D . paul ii D . lac ust ri s D. l in eari s D . obl onga
+en"t h 224382 360382 110168 140231 96108 128232
8readth 76123 94108 3754 6394 3238 6099
Apert ure diamet er 4048 5968 1834 2642 1213 1938
2ut !ine ,ou"h5 e!on"ate
pyri% or m wit h a dis
tinct abora! horn
Intermediat e rou"h5
cy!indrica! or e!on
"ate pyri% orm wit h a
dist inct abora! hor n
Smooth5 s!im and
e!on"ate ci"arshape
Inter mediat e rou"h5
e!on"at e, cy!i ndr ica!
or s!i"ht! y pyri% orm
,ou"h5 % !askshape or
e!on"ate pyri% orm with a
!on" thin neck
,ou"h5 o#oid
with a distinct
!on" neck
&omposit ion Sma!! t o ! ar"e pieces
o% an"u!ar 7uart 4,
rare!y i ncorporates
diatoms
Sma!! to !ar"e pieces
o% 7uart 4, rare!y in
corporates diat oms
Sma!! and medium
pieces o% % !at 7uart 4
Sma!! t o medium
pieces o% 7uart4, di
at om % rustu!es and
sma!! si!iceous % !a"e!
!at e cysts
Sma!! t o medium pieces
o% % !at tened 7uart 4, di
atom %rustu!es, % ra"
ments o% %!at tish % rus
t u!es, sma!! si! iceous
she!! p!ates and round
%!a"e!!ate cysts
Sma!! t o !ar"e
pieces o% an"u!ar
7uart4, p!us occa
siona! diat oms
Apert ure &ircu!ar, surrounded
by re"u!ar arran"e
ment o% sma!! part i
c!es
&ircu!ar, surrounded
by re"u!ar arran"e
ment o% sma!! parti
c!es
&ircu!ar, surrounded
by re"u!ar arran"e
ment o% sma!! part i
c!es
&ircu!ar, surrounded
by re"u!ar arran"e
ment o% sma!! part i
c!es
&i rcu!ar, surrounded by
re"u!ar arran"ement o%
sma!! part ic!es
&ircu!ar or o#oid,
surrounded by re
"u!ar arran"ement
o% sma!! partic!es
2r"anic cement Sma!! network ,e"u!ar net work $er% orated cones 8ut ton!ike % orm Sma!! rin"s or ho!es 2n!y strands #isib!e
-esh diameter 1012 0304 010015 0708 03 ;
-esh wa!! t hickness 0405 015025 020025 0203 01 ;
,e% erence 2"den, 1979 $resent work $resent work 2"den, 1983
2"den, 19805 2"den,
1983
2"den and (air
man, 1979
55 an! " 2005 # $ " %
8ritain and .u"os!a#ia ( 2"den, 19835 1984) .
REFERENCES
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= >
( , )

1, 2, 3

2

2
1 430072
2 430072
3

2
: Di f f l ugi a acum i na ta mag n a )e%!andre,
1926 D. paul i i 2"den, 1983

D . a cumi n at a a cumi n at a

, , , .
3959 114
56 Acta &''ta('n'mica )inica *'l! 30 +'! 1