Morphology and phylogeny of Leptomyxa regia n. sp., isolated from an artificial pond in Izmailovo Park (Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

Summary The order Leptomyxida (Amoebozoa, Tubulinea) unifies species capable of altering their morphology from monopodial, clavate in active locomotion to flattened ramose or branched while feeding or resting. Species belonging to this order are very polymorphic and are hard to distinguish at the morphological level. The molecular data, namely – gene sequences, remain the primary differentiating character, especially within the genus Leptomyxa . We have isolated a new representative of this genus, Leptomyxa regia n. sp., from the top layer of sediment collected from an artificial pond in Izmailovo Park in Moscow (Russia). A remarkable characteristic of this species is that being monopodial, it moves without forming a pronounced hyaline cap. The latter is visible only at the beginning of locomotion or in non-directed movement. In addition, it differs from other species in the 18S rRNA gene sequence. We provide morphological and molecular data on this remarkable species of Leptomyxida.