Velamentofex
Velamentofex tyrolensis (photomicrograph Steffen Clauß)

Family Velamentofexidae Völcker and Clauß, 2020

Improved diagnosis: (Siemensma and holzmann, 2023) Multinucleate organic walled monothalamous foraminifera. Shell spherical to pyriform, in some species surrounded by a broad layer of mucus-like material not easily observable as it is covered with food particles, digestion residues and detritus. Shell wall flexible, colorless, and smooth, varying in thickness. Aperture terminal, oblique. Peduncle trumpet-shaped, eccentrically located and varying in length, surrounded by a hyaline peduncular sheath. Radiating network of granuloreticulopodia that can extend several millimeters over the substrate. Nuclei ovular, numerous. Cytoplasm with many contractile vacuoles in the periphery of the cell and numerous refractive rod-shaped yellowish crystalline inclusions, attached to a spherical non-refractive bodies. Cysts observed.

Molecular features: The partial SSU rDNA sequences contain between 1159–1166 nucleotides, the GC content ranges from 35.8% to 37.6%. Pairwise distances range from0.015 to 0.025, the overall average is 0.036.

Type genus: Velamentofex Völcker and Clauß, 2020

Genera assigned. Velamentofex. 

Genus Velamentofex Völcker and Clauß, 2020

Diagnosis: As for family.

Type species. Velamentofex berolinensis  Völcker and Clauß, 2020

Species assigned. V. berolinensis, V. saxonensis, V. tyrolensis, V. dujardini.

Velamentofex
V. saxonensis (photomicrograph Steffen Clauß)

References: Siemensma, F., Holzmann, M., Apothéloz-Perret-Gentil, Laure, Clauß, S., Voelcker, E., Bettighofer, W., Khanipour Roshan, S., Walden, S., Dumack, K., Pawlowski, J., 2020. Broad sampling of monothalamids (Rhizaria, Foraminifera) gives further insight into diversity of non-marine Foraminifera. Eur. J. Protistol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejop.2020.125744

Ferry Siemensma, created October 25, 2020; last modified October 16, 2024
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