Abstract

We investigated the morphology and evolutionary relationships of Torodinium spp. and Katodinium glaucum, unarmoured dinoflagellates characterized by a small hyposome. An emended generic description of Torodinium was proposed based on light and scanning electron microscopy. Torodinium exhibited a unique combination of morphological features including a minute hyposome, a long episome with longitudinal ribs and a canal of unknown function on the dextro-lateral side. Unlike any known dinoflagellate both cingulum and sulcus extended in the episome. The apex surface showed ribs that converged in a bill-like projection. The shape of the apical groove was a circular spiral that extended around the apex running in 2.5 turns in an anticlockwise direction. The type species T. teredo was usually longer than T. robustum. The longitudinal outline of T. teredo was linear, with almost parallel margins, a circular transversal section, a relatively large hyposome and a conspicuous bill-like projection. The longitudinal outline of T. robustum was oblong, widened in the middle, with an ellipsoidal transversal section, a small hyposome and a less prominent bill-like projection. Several morphological features of Katodinium glaucum (=Gyrodinium glaucum) resembled Gyrodinium, such as the cingular displacement, longitudinal ribs, trichocysts, rod-shaped and refractile bodies and a capsule that surrounded the spherical nucleus. Distinctive features of K. glaucum were the horseshoeshaped apical groove under a tongue-shaped notch pointed towards the dorsal side, and a bifurcated proximal end of the cingulum. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Torodinium spp. and K. glaucum formed two independent lineages with no close relationships with other known dinoflagellates. The morphology of K. glaucum was distant from the type species of Katodinium. We propose the new genus and combination Lebouridinium glaucum gen. nov., comb. nov. for the species Katodinium glaucum.