Genus Vernalophrys Gong, Patterson and Hu, 2015

Diagnosis: Limnetic vampyrellid amoeba feeding by engulfment of unicellular chlorophycean algae (e.g., Scenedesmus dimorphus). It can exist as a trophozoite, plasmodium, digestive cyst, and resting cyst. The trophozoite predominantly exhibits an expanded fan-shaped appearance, with thin, tapering filopodia originating from the frontal or frontolateral hyaline fringe of the cytoplasm. Trophozoites, plasmodia, and digestive cysts can aggregate to form flocs.

Remarks: On the basis of the SSU rDNA gene sequence, this vampyrellid has closer affinities to Leptophrys, Platyreta, and other leptophryids than to the family Vampyrellidae; however, it has two distinctive regions in helix E10_1 (nucleotides 117 to 119; CAA) and E23_1 (nucleotides 522 to 523; AG) that made it different from the known leptophryids. The type strain was isolated from cultivation of Scenedesmus in both raceway ponds and flat-panel photobioreactors in Mesa, Arizona, USA.
ZooBank identifier: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 949CB818-B9E4-4B

Vernalophrys algivore Gong, Patterson and Hu, 2015

Diagnosis: as for the genus. Trophozoites 10 to 30 µm, plasmodia 20 to 300 µm, digestive cysts 30 to 100 µm, and resting cysts 20 to 35 µm long.
ZooBank I: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7C1C1087-D658-423A-A260- 0E8253AABEA9