Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid et Swezy

Classification:
Empire Eukaryota
Kingdom Protozoa
Subkingdom Biciliata
Infrakingdom Alveolata
Phylum Myzozoa
Class Dinophyceae
Order Noctilucales
Family Noctilucaceae
Genus Noctiluca

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Pictures:

click on thumbnail for larger version.

Note the root-like tentacle characteristic of the large species.. © Robin Raine.

Left: Stained in Lugol's Iodine showing the striations which emanate from the nucleus. Right: Stained in Rose of Bengal, showing the prominent tentacle characteristic of the species.. © Robin Raine / Georgina Mc Dermott.

Poulsbo, Washington, USA; Liberty Bay Marina, 100x, DIC. 21 Jul 2008. Karl Bruun. © Karl Bruun.

Poulsbo, Washington, USA; Liberty Bay Marina, 100x, DIC. 22 Jul 2008. Karl Bruun. © Karl Bruun.

Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA; Eagle Harbor Marina, Lugol's, 100x, DIC. 22 Mar 2009. Karl Bruun. © Karl Bruun.

Poulsbo, Washington, USA; Liberty Bay Marina, Palmer-Maloney, 100x, DIC. 30 May 2009. Karl Bruun. © Karl Bruun.

Seattle, Washington, USA; Puget Sound, Ferry. 16 Jun 2009. Karl Bruun. © Karl Bruun.

Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid et Swezy Poulsbo, Washington, USA; Liberty Bay Marina, 100x, DIC

Publication details
Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid et Swezy 1921

Original publication: Kofoid, C.A. & Swezy, O. (1921). The free-living unarmored Dinoflagellata. Vol. 5 pp. i-viii, 1-562..
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Type species
The type species (holotype) of the genus Noctiluca is .

Status of name
This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.

Basionym
Medusa scintillans Macartney

Type information
Type locality: Herne Bay, Kent, England (Macartney 1810: 264). Notes: "I first met with these animals in the month of October 1804, at Herne Bay, a small watering place upon the northern coast of Kent."

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Medusa scintillans Macartney 1810

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Medusa marina Slabber 1771
Noctiluca miliaris Suriray 1816
Mammaria scintillans Ehrenberg 1834
Noctiluca marina Ehrenberg 1834

General environment
This is a Marine species.

Usage notes
Faust & Gulledge (2002: 47) notes toxic blooms of this species have been linked to large fish and marine invertebrate kills. This species does not produce a toxin, it is found to accumulate toxic levels of ammonia which is excreted into the surrounding waters. Please consult original reference for further details. Harmful species

Detailed distribution with sources
(as Noctiluca miliaris Suriray)
Europe: Romania (Caraus 2002).

(as Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid et Swezy)
Europe: Britain (Parke & Dixon 1976), Croatia (Vilicic et al. 2009 ), Romania (Caraus 2002).

Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands (Gil-Rodríguez et al. 2003).

Asia: Hong Kong (Liu & Wong 2006).

Australia and New Zealand: Tasmania (Harlow et al 2007).

Taxonomic notes
Faust & Gulledge (2002: 46) cites the authorities of this species as Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofoid & Swezy (1921). Steidinger & Tangen (1997: 466) also use alternate authorities.

Source of synonymy
Dodge, J.D. (1982). Marine Dinoflagellates of the British Isles. pp. 303. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

Key references
Gómez, F., Moreira, D., López-García, P. (2010). Molecular phylogeny of noctilucoid dinoflagellates (Noctilucales, Dinophyta). Protist 161: 466-478.

Hallegraeff, G.M., Anderson, D.M. & Cembella, A.D., Eds (2003). Manual on harmful marine microalgae. Paris: UNESCO.

Harlow, L.D., Koutoulis, A. & Hallegraeff, G.M. (2007). S-adenosylmethionine synthetase genes from eleven marine dinoflagellates. Phycologia 46: 46-53.

Liu, X.-J. & Wong, C.K. (2006). Seasonal and spatial dynamics of Noctiluca scintillans in a semi-enclosed bay in the northeastern part of Hong Kong. Botanica Marina 49: 145-150.

Parke, M. & Dixon, P.S. (1976). Check-list of British marine algae - third revision. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 56: 527-594.

Steidinger, K.A. & Tangen, K. (1996). Dinoflagellates. In: Identifying Marine Phytoplankton. (Tomas, C.R. Eds), pp. 387-584. San Diego: Academic Press.

NCBI Nucleotide Sequences

Created: 07 May 2002 by M.D. Guiry

Verified by: 28 December 2009 by Fernando Gomez

Accesses: This record has been accessed by users 3088 times since it was created.

References
(Please note: only references with the binomials in the title are included. The information is from the Literature database.)

Afzelius, B.A. (1963). The nucleus of Noctiluca scintillans. Aspects of nucleocytoplasmic exchanges and the formation of nuclear membrane. Journal of Cell Biology 19: 229-238.
Escalera, L., Pazos, Y., Moroño, A. & Reguera, B. (2007). Noctiluca scintillans may act as a vector of toxigenic microalgae. Harmful Algae 6: 317-320.
Liu, X.-J. & Wong, C.K. (2006). Seasonal and spatial dynamics of Noctiluca scintillans in a semi-enclosed bay in the northeastern part of Hong Kong. Botanica Marina 49: 145-150.
Sriwoon, R., Pholpunthin, P., Lirdwitayaprasit, T., Kishino, M. & Furuya, K. (2008). Population dynamics of green Noctiluca scintillans (Dinophyceae) associated with the monsoon cycle in the upper Gulf of Thailand. Journal of Phycology 44: 605-615.