Sphenoderiidae (fam. nov.), a New Clade of Euglyphid Testate Amoebae Characterized by Small, Round Scales Surrounding the Aperture

Euglyphid testate amoebae are a highly conspicuous group of Cercozoa whose systematics is based mainly on the shape and ultrastructure of the shell. However, only a couple of species have been studied with molecular methods. As a consequence, there are still some genera whose classification remains uncertain. Amongst those are Sphenoderia and Trachelocorythion, two genera with diverging ecological requirements that share a collar composed of small scales around the aperture. We demonstrate here with a molecular and morphological approach that they are closely related, and propose a new family, Sphenoderiidae fam. nov. to group these species. Some species share almost similar morphology in spite of being genetically distantly related (Sphenoderia minuta and S. pseudominuta sp. nov.), underlining the importance of combining ultrastructural and morphological data when describing new species of protists. In addition, we describe here Sphenoderia valdiviana sp. nov., a new species isolated from Southern Chile temperate rainforests.