Astracantha heteracantha
Astracantha is a genus of phaeodaria containing the sole species of plankton A. heteracantha. It was first described by the zoologist Valentin Haecker in 1908. It is the only member of the family Astracanthidae, described by Ernst Haeckel in 1887.[1]
| Astracantha heteracantha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Astracantha radial spine | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Phylum: | Cercozoa |
| Class: | Thecofilosea |
| Order: | Opaloconchida |
| Suborder: | Phaeocystina |
| Family: | Astracanthidae Haeckel 1887 |
| Genus: | Astracantha Haecker 1908 |
| Species: | A. heteracantha |
| Binomial name | |
| Astracantha heteracantha Haecker 1908 | |
This genus is characterized by a skeleton or theca comprised by 30 to 40 hollow spines radiating from the central focal point. Midway along each spine there are numerous short, irregularly spaced, outwardly curved branches that bear terminal thorns proximally (i.e. closer to the cell), but become terminally (i.e. further from the cell) smooth-pointed and slightly thicker. The length of their radial tubes is around 1.8 millimeters.[2][3]
References
- Takahashi K, Anderson OR. "Class Phaeodaria". In Lee JJ, Leedale GF, Bradbury P (eds.). Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa (2nd ed.). Society of Protozoologists, Lawrence, Kansas. pp. 981–994.
- Kling SA, Boltovskoy D (1999). "Radiolaria Phaeodaria". In Boltovskoy D (ed.). South Atlantic Zooplankton (1st ed.). Backhuys. ISBN 9789057820359.
- Boltovskoy, D. "Astracantha heteracantha". Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.