Difflugia bacillifera
D. bacillifera, from different locations.

Difflugia bacillifera Penard, 1890

Diagnosis: The shell is ovoid, flask-shaped, or elongate, with a distinct, long, cylindrical neck that is not compressed, and a smooth fundus. The neck is variable in length, usually slightly widened towards the aperture. The shell is primarily or entirely composed of diatoms, which are sometimes intermixed with sand particles or foreign bodies such as minute tests of siliceous flagellates or rhizopoda, e.g., Euglypha. The shell is typically transparent, light brown, or yellow. The aperture is circular.

Dimensions: Penard (1890) mean 158 µm. Awerinzew 150-190 µm. Cash 145-160 µm. Jung 145-180 µm. Hoogenraad and De Groot 120-180 µm. My measurements: Length 117-236 µm,

Habitat: Sphagnum pools and mosses. Not rare.

Remarks: The outline of the shell is often obscured by the diversity of diatom frustules incorporated into its structure. In some cases, the entire shell may appear as an amalgamation of diatoms. The siliceous materials used range from diatom frustules nearly equal in length to the body of the shell, to smaller frustules about 10 µm long, and spherical siliceous cysts from chrysomonad flagellates.

Difflugia bacillifera
Difflugia bacillifera, 170 µm long, Tirol, Austria
Difflugia bacillifera - Ferry Siemensma
Difflugia bacillifera, 236 µm – Diepveen, The Netherlands
Difflugia bacillifera – Tirol, Austria
Difflugia bacillifera, 220 µm – Tirol, Austria
Difflugia bacillifera, 176 µm – Tirol, Austria
Difflugia bacillifera, Sweden
Ferry Siemensma, created February 23, 2019; last modified November 29, 2024
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