Testate amoebae from the wetlands of the Phobjikha Valley of Bhutan, the Eastern Himalayas

Author Identifier

Chöki Gyeltshen: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6790-6278

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

European Journal of Protistology

Volume

96

PubMed ID

39522415

Publisher

Elsevier

School

School of Science

RAS ID

77883

Funders

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (S23134) / Asahi Glass Foundation / JSPS KAKENHI (24K08958)

Comments

Wanner, M., Siemensma, F., Acharja, I. P., Tshering, J., Khandu, P., Gajmer, S. L., Gyeltshen, C., Dorji, T., Tenzin, K., & Shimano, S. (2024). Testate amoebae from the wetlands of the Phobjikha Valley of Bhutan, the Eastern Himalayas. European Journal of Protistology, 96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejop.2024.126125

Abstract

The Kingdom of Bhutan in the Eastern Himalayas harbors a rich biodiversity. However, its detailed documentation still needs to be created, including not only macroorganisms but also protists. In the present study, as many as 105 taxa of testate amoebae were identified and directly counted in soil suspension samples collected from the wetlands of the Gangtey-Phobji Valley (generally Phobjikha), Wangdue Phodrang district. The most dominant were cosmopolitan species, e.g., Euglypha rotunda, Trinema lineare, T. complanatum, T. enchelys, Phryganella acropodia, and Plagiopyxis declivis. However, some taxa such as Centropyxis deflandriana, C. stenodeflandriana, Hoogenraadia cf. humicola, Pareuglypha reticulata, and Sphenoderia chardezi have a geographically restricted distribution and/or are considered rare. Some specimens could not be assigned to already described species (Centropyxis dentata sp. nov. and Difflugia fusiforma sp. nov.) or were highly similar to known species but differed in size or other taxonomically important characteristics (e.g., Hoogenraadia cf. humicola and Planhoogenraadia sp.). To our knowledge, this study is the first to present a comprehensive list of testate amoebae from Bhutan, including some new and rare species. The discovery of a remarkable diversity of testate amoebae in only a few soil samples suggests that this remote and largely unexplored region likely harbors many more intriguing species.

DOI

10.1016/j.ejop.2024.126125

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