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

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.