portrait

Description:

Gymnodinium (jim-no-din-ee-um), a so-called typical dinoflagellate. Most dinoflagellates have two flagella and they lie in grooves in the cell surface. The flagella are not evident here, but one groove -the circumferential groove - is., and the second (trailing) flagellum can be seen extending out the back of the cell. This is an autotrophic dinoflagellate with numerous plastids with chlorophylls a and c. Phase contrast.