Paraflabellula

Similar to Flabellula, but having shallower invaginations in the lamella, which is generally narrower.  Genus has a tendency to be multinucleate.  Floating forms typically have long radial pseudopods.  Generally do not produce cysts, but one cyst producing, freshwater species P. kudoi has been described.  Trailing filopods common. Surprisingly perhaps, Paraflabellula hoguae (as Flabellula hoguae) branches close to Hartmannella vermiformis in a SSUrDNA analysis (Sogin et al, 1996).  This apparent relationship is surprising since the two genera look nothing like each other, more sensibly, however is a kinship between Paraflabellula and Acanthamoeba since they look vaguely similar (in some SSUrDNA trees Acanthamoeba braches with Hartmannella and Paramoeba). Presumably then Acanthamoeba, Paraflabellula, Flabellula, Hartmannella and Paramoeba form a major amoebic clade.  More recent SSUrDNA trees (Amaral Zettler et al, 2000) find that two Paraflabellula, P. hoguae and P.reniformis are actually split by a Rhizamoeba sp!  Throwing into some doubt the difference between Paraflabellula and Rhizamoeba. 

Described species:-

P. cirrifera According to Page (Page, 1983), Amoeba cirrifera (Penard, 1890) may belong to the genus.

P. hoguae  Reclassified (Page, 1983), after first being described as Flabellula hoguae (Sawyer, 1975).

P. kudoi (Singh & Hanumaiah, 1979), 26-40mm cysts 16-25mm. grows at 42^oC.  Often binucelate.

P. pelucida (Schaeffer, 1926), First described as Flabellula pelucida, considered to be likely to belong to the genus Paraflabellula (Page, 1983) after further study.

P. remiformis (Schmoller, 1964) Euryhaline, present in low saline Baltic ocean (Smirnov, 1999) but not able to grow in freshwater. 

Amaral Zettler, L.A., Nerad, T.A., O'Kelly, C.J., Peglar, M.T., Gillevet, P.M., Silberman, J.D. & Sogin, M.L. (2000). "A molecular reassessment of the Leptomyxid amoebae." Protist 151, 275-282.

Page, F.C. (1968). "Genetic criteria for Flabellula, Rugipes and Hyalodiscus, with descriptions of species. J.Protozool. 15(1), 9-26.

Page, F.C. (1983). "Marine Gymnamoebae." Inst.Terr.Ecol. NERC Cambridge, England.

Page, F.C. & Williamsen, N.B.S. (1983). " A light and electron-microscopical study of Paraflabellula reniformis (Schmoller, 1964), type species of a genus of amoeba (Amoebidae, Flabellulidae) with subpseudopodia." Protistologica 19, 567-575.

Sawyer, T.K. (1975). "Marine amoebae from surface waters of Chincoteaque bay, Virginia : Two new genera and   nine species within the families Mayorellidae, Flabellulidae, and Stereomyxidae."  Trans.Amer.Microscop.Soc. 94(1), 71-92.

Singh, B.N. & Hanumaiah, V. (1979). "Studies on pathogenic and non-pathogenic free-living amoebae and the bearing of nuclear division of nuclear division and locomotive form and behaviour on the classification of the order Amoebida." Monograph No 1, Association of Microbiologists of India, Ind.J.Microbiol. 1-80.

Smirnov, A.V. (1999). "An illustrated survey of gymnamoebae isolated from anaerobic sediments of the Niva bay (The Sound)." Ophelia 50(2), 113-148.

Sogin, M. L., Silberman, J.D, Hinkle, G. & Morrison, H.G. (1996). "Problems with molecular diversity in the eukarya.".Society of General Microbiology Symposium: Evolution of microbial Life ed.Roberts, D.M., Sharp, P., Alderson, G. & Collins, M.A. Cambridge University Press. pp167-184.