Synura spp

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:22 pm

Synura spp
Zeiss Axiostar Plus
40X/0.65 CP Achromat
Oblique Illumination w/18mm stop
Sony DSC-P200
1/100 sec. @ f/2.8 ISO 100
Manual Mode

gpmatthews · Post by **gpmatthews** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:38 pm

Excellent, Ken, I really like this one!

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:48 pm

Nice clean image Ken showing some interesting detail. I had no idea that Synura colonies existed in this elongated form. The species I see are grouped into little balls of perhaps 12 to 16 cells.

Nice one!

Bruce

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:18 pm

Thank you Graham and Bruce.

Yes, I too usually find Synura as a round spherical structure of only several flagellated cells, maybe more. This is a first, for me anyways, to find them in an elonogated group of cells such as this.

bernhardinho · Post by **bernhardinho** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:49 am

Bruce Williams wrote: I had no idea that Synura colonies existed in this elongated form.

Hi,

neither have I!!! Ken, what makes you so sure about the thing being a Synura? And not something else like Uroglena for instance?

Bernhard

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:15 am

Bernhard asked:

Ken, what makes you so sure about the thing being a Synura? And not something else like Uroglena for instance?

Probably because of the elongated arrangement of the flagellated cells. Uroglena seems to form more spherical colonies and I have not observed them as being elongated. Look closely at the individual cells and you can see that Synura is more oval, whereas Uroglena is rounded. Of course I could be mistaken but that is what I based my identification on, there are or could be more subtile differences that I may have missed. Here is a good link, if you have not ran across it already, for checking possible ID's.

Images of Freshwater Algae and Protozoa from the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan

bernhardinho · Post by **bernhardinho** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:04 am

Hi Ken,

well, Uroglena having more rounded cells is new to me. But on second thoughts I must confess that I was a bit fixed on Synura uvella (the only one I know). But there are probably species that show elongated arrangments, as our japanese friends show:
http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/pdb/Images ... index.html

Very interesting find I must say!!

Bernhard

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:27 am

Ken and Bernhard

I think you'll find a close match here:

http://www.hib.no/avd_al/naturfag/plank ... ynura.html

Bruce

bernhardinho · Post by **bernhardinho** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:45 am

That's it, fabulous, Bruce!!

Bernhard

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:39 am

Great link too!

ralfwagner · Post by **ralfwagner** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:40 pm

Hello,

there is one thing to distinguish Synura from similar species like Uroglena: Synura never has a stigma. I am not sure, Ken, if there is a stigma at the top of each cell in your picture. If there is one, it probably is Pseudosynura urogleniformis or an Uroglena species. Both are known to have always a stigma. Here an example how a stigma looks alike at these critters we are talking about (actually I even do not know its genus):

In case there is no stigma, Synura uvella is probably right, it is known to form such large colonies.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:42 pm

Well, I am not really sure as to what a stigma is there Ralf.

Are you referring to the long filament moving towards the top left of your image? The specimen that I photographed does have a single flagellum for each cell I believe, though they are not readily visible in the photograph I have posted

ralfwagner · Post by **ralfwagner** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:25 pm

Ken,

a stigma is a light-sensitive red dot that can be observed in algae or euglenas. Here it is situated at the top of the cell, close to the origin of the flagella.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Mar 18, 2007 3:31 am

Stigma/eyespot

Thanks for refreshing my memory Ralf

, why that term did not come to mind readily I do not know. I suppose it's seldom that I use or get to use it. I notice a few areas in the colony that appear as such but they do not appear red and as I mentioned to Bernhard the shape of the cells are a bit different to but you are right, it is something to take note of when observing these tiny plant/animal organisms.

Wolfgang Bettighofer · Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:08 pm

Hi out there,

thanks for posting the interesting pictures. One additional note to the stigma topic. Ralfs picture shows great detail and we can see red dots. We also can clearly see siliceous scales. How does this match? Siliceous scales -> Synura, Stigma -> maybe Uroglena

I had similar problems until I ID Synura sphagnicola using the marvellous book of Martin Kreutz with his breathtaking photos "The Sphagnum Ponds of Simmelried in Germany: A Biodiversity Hot-Spot for Microscopic Organisms". Look at following link:

http://www.shaker.eu/Catalogue/details. ... 322-2544-7
High printing quality, very useful, highly recommended! And: Most of protists are cosmopolitan...

Cheers, Wolfgang