Description of Freudenthalidium gen. nov. and Halluxium gen. nov. to Formally Recognize Clades Fr3 and H as Genera in the Family Symbiodiniaceae (Dinophyceae)

Abstract

The Symbiodiniaceae are a family of marine dinoflagellates known mostly for their endosymbiotic interactions with invertebrates and protists, but facultatively and exclusively free‐living life histories in this family are also evident. A recent systematic revision of the Symbiodiniaceae replaced the clade‐based nomenclature of seven divergent lineages of “Symbiodinium” sensu lato with one based on formally described genera. The revised taxonomy was not extended to the whole group because type species to describe a new genus for each of the remaining clades and subclades were lacking. In an effort to characterize benthic habitats of symbiodiniaceans in sediments at Heron Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia), we isolated >100 monoclonal Symbiodiniaceae cultures. Four of these belonged to Symbiodiniaceae ‘subclade’ Fr3, and three to Clade H, based on nucleotide sequence similarity (ITS2, LSU, cp23S, and mtCOB), representing the first cultures of these taxa. Based on these isolates, we propose two new genera: Freudenthalidium gen. nov. and Halluxium gen. nov., circumscribing Clades Fr3 and H, respectively. Three new species are described: Freudenthalidium heronense, F. endolithicum, and Halluxium pauxillum. Kofoidian tabulations of motile cells confirm previous observations that amphiesmal vesicle arrangements are generally conserved across the family. These descriptions are an important step toward completing the systematic revision of the Symbiodiniaceae. That this contribution was enabled by isolates from an endopsammic habitat highlights the potential of discovering new symbiodiniacean species in the environment, the study of which will lead to a deeper understanding of free‐living versus symbiotic life histories in this ecologically important family of dinoflagellates.