Prorocentrum lima (Dinoflagellata)

[75RR]

Planapo 63x/1.4, DIC, 45µm length, stacked in Photoshop, Marine sample, Alboran Sea.

What looks like a filamentous alga on the right may be a cyanobacteria

[Sauerkraut]

That's fantastic! I had to look it up - great capture right down to the thecal pores.

[75RR]

Many thanks Sauerkraut, it is always a challenge to get a good image from the little things

[Wes]

I checked the organism in google images and yours is miles ahead in terms of detail that I can see. I find the thing on the right somewhat more interesting though. Do you know what is the brown pigment inside Prorocentrum lima?

[75RR]

Thanks Wes

Do you know what is the brown pigment inside Prorocentrum lima?

Apparently a mix of fucoxanthin and chlorophyll type C

[actinophrys]

Very nice detail on the cell surface. You don't suppose the filament is a diatom?

Not that it changes much, but while most chlorophyll c-containing algae get their golden colour from fucoxanthin, Prorocentrum and other dinoflagellates typically have their own unique carotenoid peridinin. The exceptions are a few odd genera like Karlodinium, and the difference reflects the ancestral dinoflagellate chloroplast getting replaced by a new one from haptophyte algae.

[75RR]

Very nice detail on the cell surface. You don't suppose the filament is a diatom?

Will keep an eye out for similar ones and try to provide images at different magnifications - that might help with the ID

Not that it changes much, but while most chlorophyll c-containing algae get their golden colour from fucoxanthin, Prorocentrum and other dinoflagellates typically have their own unique carotenoid peridinin. The exceptions are a few odd genera like Karlodinium, and the difference reflects the ancestral dinoflagellate chloroplast getting replaced by a new one from haptophyte algae.

Thanks for the correction.