A New Two-Spored Species of Cavostelium (Protostelida)

Abstract

This simple mycetozoan is characterized by sporocarp consisting of 2 minutely punctate spores borne on a short, slender stalk. The feeding state (holozoic) is typically a uninucleate amoeboid protoplast, but protoplasts with few too many nuclei are also produced. In water the amoebae develop 1-2 anterior flagella, but more than 2 are produced by some cells. Some flagella are unassociated with nuclei but remain as active as those which are so associated. Locomotion is primarily by amoeboid movement, as the flagella are not efficient organs of propulsion. A sexual process has not been found. The organism was isolated from dead pods and fruits in Malaysia, Ceylon, and Florida.