Genus: Highly flattened; pellicle firm; body form constant (Kudo, 1966). Chloroplasts small, discoid, pyrenoids usually absent; most species flat and leaf-shaped; often with ridges or fins running helically or longitudinally (Illustrated Guide, 1985).
Species: Cell body obovoid to long triangular, slightly twisted; anterior end broadly rounded, sharrowly bilobed; laterally undulated and asymmetrical; posterior end tapered into a long slightly curved cauda, 22-26 μm long, 10-13 μm wide; usually 3 paramylon bodies cup-shaped, parietal plate, two located at the right and left halves of the cell at the anterior end, remaining one at the posterior half of the cell (Photomicrographs of the Freshwater Algae, 1995).

Google Image Search

P. aenigmaticus 24 x 9 μm Omiya Saitama, 2001	P. aenigmaticus 20 x 9 μm Akigase Park Saitama, 2002	P. aenigmaticus 20 x 9 μm Akigase Park Saitama, 2002	P. aenigmaticus μm Hanyu Saitama, 2003
P. aenigmaticus 26 x 14 μm Sannoh Park Saitama Saitama, 2005	P. aenigmaticus 24 x 11 μm Okubo Ryoke Akigase park Saitama, 2005	P. aenigmaticus ? or similar sp. ? 30 x 12 μm Shiba river near Owada p. Saitama, 2005	P. aenigmaticus ? or similar sp. ? 30 x 12 μm Oura central p. Oura Gunma, 2006
P. aenigmaticus ? 20 x 7 μm A. flower p. Ashikaga Tochigi, 2006	P. aenigmaticus ? 20 x 9 μm Okahotto-Yatsu 4 Abiko Chiba, 2008	P. aenigmaticus ? 26 x 9 μm Beppu-numa Kumagaya Saitama, 2008

Please click on species name for more images.

Copyright Protist Information Server