Heterotrophic flagellates from the water column in Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia

An account is given of the diversity of heterotrophic flagellates in Port Jackson (New South Wales, Australia) and is discussed in relation to the geographic patchiness of the marine communities of these organisms. Close to 100 taxa are reported. We report and document 86 species and 51 genera. None of these species are new although we draw attention to some difficulties with the application of the morphological species concept. Of the species reported here, 50 have been previously recorded from Australia. We find no evidence for an endemic community here - or by extrapolation - elsewhere. However, the matter is contingent upon the validity of the morphological species concept.