RECLINOMONAS-AMERICANA N G, N-SP, A NEW FRESH-WATER HETEROTROPHIC FLAGELLATE

A new heterotrophic flagellate has been discovered from sites in Maryland, Michigan and Wyoming. The flagellate resides within a lorica constructed of a meshwork of intertwined fibrils with the outer surface invested with nail-shaped spines. The organism ''reclines'' within the lorica with its ventral aspect directed upward, and has two heterodynamic flagella, neither of which bears mastigonemes. One flagellum is directed upward and the other is arched over the ventral aspect of the body. Ingestion of bacteria takes place al the left posterior half of the cell. The organism is anchored to the lorica on the fight posterior side by a series of regularly spaced cytoplasmic bridges and at the left anterior of the cell by a cytoplasmic appendage similar to the ''languette cytoplasmique'' found in some bicosoecids. The right side of the cell is raised into a flattened lip with the outer margin reinforced by a ribbon of microtubules. The new flagellate has mitochondria with tubular cristae and lacks a Golgi. A new genus is created to accommodate both the new flagellate described herein and Histiona campanula Penard. A new family is proposed to include the new genus and Histiona.