MORPHOLOGY AND TAXONOMY OF THE EURYHALINE CHRYSOPHYTE,SPHAERIDIOTHRIX COMPRESSA1

Sphaeridiothrix compressa was found in a. saline pond in central Kansas in 1966. Studies in culture have shown that it reproduces readily by zoosporogenesis when grown in media of 12–21 ppt (%0) total salt. Its taxonomic position in the Chrysophyceae and synonymy with S. globulosa, S. brunea, and Chrysodictyon indicum are discussed. This is the first report of Sphaeridiothrix in the Western Hemisphere, and the first account of zoosporogenesis in the genus.