Desmid of the month
April 2011
Actinotaenium rufescens
As its name indicates, Actinotaenium rufescens is characterized by a brownish colour of the cell wall (although not always expressed). A second remarkable feature is found in the coarse punctation of the wall. Like in other Actinotaenium species with a comparable cell size, the axial chloroplasts are provided with a number of distinct longitudinal ridges. Actinotaenium rufescens is a rare arctic-alpine species, to be encountered in acidic oligotrophic bog pools. From the Netherlands but a few records are known, the latest dating from the nineteen seventies.
mouse over images © Koos Meesters (after Austrian material)
Actinotaenium rufescens. Notice the coarsely punctate cell wall and the longitudinal chloroplast ridges.
Cell dimensions (L x B): 68 x 26 µm
<<<
Another cell of A. rufescens with a strikingly brownish wall.
Image © Koos Meesters
