This paper reveals the morphological study of Protoperidinium sphaericum, a rare species of marine dinoflagellates (Dinoflagellata, Dinophyta) found in the plankton of the Persian Gulf near the island of Ormuz (territorial waters of Iran). The study proved the morphological identity of P. spaericum, P. hamatum Balech 1979, found earlier in the Persian Gulf, and P. sphaeroides (Dangeard) Balech 1974 known only from the Mediterranean Sea. After analyzing the literature and original data, and in accordance with the principle of priority, P. hamatum and P. sphaeroides are considered synonymous with P. sphaericum. The range of P. sphaericum includes Mediterranean, Adriatic and Caribbean Seas, Mexican, Persian and Oman Gulfs, Southwest Atlantic, and the coastal waters of west Africa and Japan.

Keywords: Dinoflagellata, Dinophyta, Protoperidinium spaericum, Persian Gulf, Iran

Full text: PDF 1.05M

1. Abé T.H. Sci. Rep. Tohoku. Imp. Univ. Ser. 4. 1927. 2(4): 383–438.
2. Abé T.H. Sci. Rep. Tohoku. Imp. Univ. Sect. B. 1940. 5(81–83): 27–38.
3. Avendaño-Sánchez H., Sotomayor-Navarro O. Biol. Mar. 1982. 1(3): 79–96.
4. Balech E. Dinoflagelados Campana Oceanografica Argentina. Islas Orcadas. Republica Argentina. Armada Argentina. Servicio de Hidrografia Naval. Buenos Aires: Taller. Grafic. S.H.N., 1979. 82 p.
5. Balech E. Hidrobiologia. 1974. 4(1): 1–79.
6. Balech E. Los dinoflagelados del Atlántico Sudoccidental. Ministrio de Agricultura Pesca y Alimentación. Madrid: Publ. Espec. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 1988. Issue 1. 310 p.
7. Balech E. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. Bernardino Rivad. Inst. Nac. Invest. Cienc. Nat. 1964. 1(6): 179–195.
8. Dangeard P.A. Ann. de l'Inst. Océanograph. Fond. Albert I. 1927. 4: 285–405.
9. Fensome R.A., Bujak J., Dale B., Davies E.H., Dodge J.D., Edwards L.E., Edvards L.E., Harland R., Head M.J., Lentin J.K., Lewis J., Matsuoka K., Norris G., Sarjeant W.A.S., Taylor F.J.R., Williams G.L. Taxon. 1998. 47: 727–730. https://doi.org/10.2307/1223594
10. Fensome R.A., Taylor F.J.R., Norris G., Sarjeant W.A.S., Wharton D.I., Williams G.L. Micropaleontology. Spec. Publ. 1993. (7): 1–352.
11. Fritz L., Triemer R.E. J. Phycol. 1985. 21: 662–664. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3646.1985.00662.x
12. Gómez F. Bot. Mar. 2003. 46: 215–242. https://doi.org/10.1515/BOT.2003.021
13. Gómez F. Acta Bot. Croat. 2005. 64(1): 129–212.
14. Guiry M.D., Guiry G.M. AlgaeBase. World-wide electron. publ. Galway: Nat. Univ. Ireland, 2017. http://www.algaebase.org
15. Kofoid C.A. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 1911. 8(4): 187–286.
16. Kofoid C.A. Arch. Protist. 1909. 16: 25–47.
17. Lozano-Duque Y., Vidal L.A., Navas G.R. Bot. Invest. Mar. Cost. 2011. 40(2): 361–380.
18. Merino-Virgilio F.C., Okolodkov Y.B., Aguilar-Trujillo A.C., Herrera-Silveira A. Check List. (Mexico). 2013. 9(4): 771–779. https://doi.org/10.15560/9.4.771
19. Murray G., Wgitting F.G. Trans. Linn. Soc. London. Bot. Ser. 2. 1899. 5(9): 321–342.
20. Okolodkov Y.B. Acta Bot. Mex. 2008. (84): 93–149. https://doi.org/10.21829/abm84.2008.1068
21. Phytoplankton in the ROMPE Sea Area. ROMPE Oceanograph. Cruise – Winter 2006. Monograph Ser. 2012. Issue 1. 159 p.
22. Schiller J. Dinoflagellate (Peridineae). Leipzig: Akad. Verlag. M.B.H., 1937. Teil 2. 590 p.
23. Taylor F.J.R. Dinoflagellates from the International Indian Ocean Expedition. A report on material collected by the R.V. Anton Bruun 1963–1964. Stuttgart: Bibliot. Bot., 1976, 287 p.
24. Vilicic D., Marasovic I., Miokovic D. Acta Bot. Croat. 2002. 61(1): 57–91.