Octactis J.Schiller, 1925: 66
Classification:
Empire Eukaryota
Kingdom Chromista
Phylum Ochrophyta
Class Dictyochophyceae
Order Dictyochales
Family Dictyochaceae
Holotype species: Octactis octonaria (Ehrenberg) Hovasse
Original publication:
Taxonomic status: currently recognized as a distinct genus.
Description: Schiller (1925) erected this genus for silicoflagellates which have a silicified skeleton of 2 octoradiate rings interconnected by short silicified elements, of which one ring is very thin. Later, Gemeinhardt (1930) referred the type species ofOctactis to Distephanus as D.speculum (Ehrenberg) Haeckel var.octonarius (Ehrenberg) Jørgensen. Hovasse (1946) retained Octactis as a separate genus and established the combination Octactis octonaria. Octactis or Dictyocha octonaria is a widely distributed silicoflagellate known from most seas, but usually considered a warm water species. It has not been studied by transmission electron microscopy, and therefore cytoplasmic details are lacking. Some workers have referred the 3 well-known extant silicoflagellates to Dictyocha or split them into 3 genera (Dictyocha, Distephanus, Octactis.).
NCBI Nucleotide Sequences
Numbers of names and species: There are 4 species (and infraspecific) names in the database at present, of which 1 has been flagged as currently accepted taxonomically.
Names: ('C' indicates a name that is currently accepted taxonomically; 'S' a homotypic or heterotypic synonym; 'U' indicates a name of uncertain taxonomic status, but which has been subjected to some verification nomenclaturally; 'P' indicates a preliminary AlgaeBase entry that has not been subjected to any kind of verification. For more information on a species click on it to activate a link to the Species database):
Octactis octonaria (Ehrenberg) Hovasse C - type
Octactis octonaria var. pulchra C
Octactis pulchra J.Schiller S
Octactis tenuis (D.Bukry) T.V.Desikachary & P.Prema P
References
Throndsen, J. (1996). The planktonic marine flagellates. In: Identifying marine phytoplankton. (Tomas, C.R. Eds), pp. 591-730. San Diego: Academic Press.
Contributors
Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera,
organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA)
and intended to be published in CD format.
These AlgaeBase descriptions are now being continually updated, and each current contributor is identified above.
The PSA and AlgaeBase warmly acknowledge the generosity of all past and present contributors and particularly the work of Dr Parker.
Descriptions of chrysophyte genera were subsequently published in J. Kristiansen & H.R. Preisig (eds.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Chrysophyte Genera. Bibliotheca Phycologica 110: 1-260.
Linking to this page: http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=44780
Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 19 June 2013.
Algaebase taxon LSID: urn:lsid:algaebase.org:taxname:6234
