Two Species of Moss Inhabitant Testate Amoebae (Centropyxidae and Lesquereusiidae) Join Indian Testate Fauna
Bindu, L *
Western Ghats Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode, India.
Chitra J
Ecology and Conservation Division, Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, 700 053, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The epiphytic bryophytes as a microbial habitat on trees in terrestrial environment holds diverse microscopic organisms. These moss habitats are suitable for testate amoebae which are bioindicators of envirornment. The present investigation on testate amoebae population in tree mosses, collected during various surveys from Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Kerala and Taluka, Uttarakhand. The study recorded two species of testate amoebae viz., Centropyxis bipilata Bakovic et al., 2019 and Paraquadrula discoides (Penard, 1893) Deflandre (1932) are new additions to Indian testate fauna.
Keywords: Protozoa, testate amoebae, moss, epiphytic bryophytes