A redescription of Scrippsiella hangoei (Schiller) comb. nov. –a ‘red tide’ dinoflagellate from the northern Baltic

Abstract

Scrippsiella hangoei (Schiller) comb. nov. is one of the most abundant species during the winter–spring season in the northern Baltic Sea. It has formed blooms under the ice on several occasions with cell concentrations reaching 24 × 1061−1. The species is described by light and scanning electron microscopy and shown to be identical to Peridinium gracile Lindemann 1924, nom. illeg. The plate formula is pp, vap or X, 4′, 3(4)a, 7″, 6c, 7s, 5′″, Op, 2″ ″ In the northern Baltic it forms organic cysts, and an extension of the generic boundary of Scrippsiella is discussed, to include species with non-calcareous cysts.