Pseudoparamoeba garorimi n. sp., with Notes on Species Distinctions within the Genus

A new marine species of naked lobose amoebae Pseudoparamoeba garorimi n. sp. (Amoebozoa, Dactylopodida) isolated from intertidal marine sediments of Garorim Bay, Korea was studied with light and transmission electron microscopy. This species has a typical set of morphological characters for a genus including the shape of the locomotive form, type of subpseudopodia and the tendency to form the single long waving pseudopodium in locomotion. Furthermore, it has the same cell surface structures as were described for the type species, Pseudoparamoeba pagei: blister-like glycostyles with hexagonal base and dome-shaped apex; besides, cell surface bears hair-like outgrowths. The new species described here lacks clear morphological distinctions from the two other Pseudoparamoeba species, but has considerable differences in the 18S rDNA and COX1 gene sequences. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rDNA placed P. garorimi n. sp. at the base of the Pseudoparamoeba clade with high PP/BS support. The level of COX1 sequence divergence was 22% between P. garorimi n. sp. and P. pagei and 25% between P. garorimi n. sp. and P. microlepis. Pseudoparamoeba species are hardly distinguishable by morphology alone, but display clear differences in 18S rDNA and COX1 gene sequences.