| Abstract: | This paper describes a new genus and species of endolithic microorganism, Cyanosaccus piriformis Lukas and Golubic (Cyanophyta, Pleurocapsales). It is characterized by 1) having one to four spherical to pear-shaped cells within a stalked, gelatinous sheath, 2) its mode of reproduction by release of a large number of baeocytes produced by the proximal daughter cell following transverse binary fission of the parent cell, and 3) its ability to bore into and dwell within carbonate substrates in the marine environment. Its habit of asymmetrical sheath production allies it with the common microboring genera Hyella and Solentia within the family Hyellaceae. Cyanosaccus is a common inhabitant of mollusk shells found in water depths ranging from +0.5 to –75 m MLW on the eastern Florida continental margin and in carbonate sands or rocks in the intertidal and subtidal zones of the Bermuda and Bahama Islands. Its distribution within and among inhabited substrates is patchy due to its mode of reproduction and growth. |
