A living cell and one of several types of cysts associated with G. spinifera (BF, courtesy of Anna Godhe)
Life-form: Solitary
Size: Length 24-50 µm, width 30-40 µm.
Resting spore: +
Note: There are several different types of cysts associated with the motile cell in this species-complex (Wall & Dale 1968b, Dale 1983)
Distinctive features:
Similar species: Gonyaulax alaskensis G. diegensis G. digitale
Distribution: Worldwide
Literature:
Dale, B. 1983. Dinoflagellate resting cysts: benthic plankton. - In.
Survival strategies of the algae, (ed. G.A. Fryxell). Cambridge Univ.
Press, Cambridge. pp. 69-136.
Dodge, J. D. 1982. Marine Dinoflagellates of the British Isles. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. 303 pp.
Dodge, J. D. 1989. Some revisions of the family Gonyaulacaceae (Dinophyceae) Based on a scanning electron microscope study. Botanica Marina. 32: 275-298.
Hansen, G. & Larsen, J. 1992. Dinoflagellater i danske farvande. In: Thomsen, H. A. (ed.) Plankton i de indre danske farvande. Havforskning fra Miljøstyrelsen, Copenhagen, pp. 45-155.
Wall, D. & Dale, B.1968b. Modern dinoflagellate cysts and evolution of the Peridiniales. Micropaleontology.14: 265-304.