Taxonomic re-evaluation of Ericiolus and Mercedesia (Prymnesiophyceae) and description of three new species Author Archontikis, Odysseas A. Author Millán, Josué G. Author Winter, Amos Author Young, Jeremy R. text Phycologia 2023 2023-03-20 62 2 179 193 https://doi.org/10.1080/00318884.2023.2172841 journal article 310055 10.1080/00318884.2023.2172841 49e89d96-8156-4924-a684-f8eff937c445 2330-2968 15520379

Table 2. Morphological comparison of Ericiolus bendifii sp. nov., E. mattioliae sp. nov., E. sheldoniae sp. nov. and Ericiolus cf. bendifii with all other currently known Ericiolus species (including those formerly assigned to Mercedesia). Data for E. spiculiger are from Thomsen et al. (1995) and for all other previously published species from this study and/or Thomsen & Østergaard (2015).

			Ericiolus mattioliae sp.		Ericiolus sheldoniae sp.								Ericiolus aspiphorus comb.		Ericiolus multistellatus		Ericiolus pusillus comb.
Species	Ericiolus bendifii sp. nov.		nov.		nov.		Ericiolus cf. bendifii		Ericiolus spiculiger		Ericiolus frigidus		nov.		comb. nov.		nov.
								Side		Side		Side
	Plan View	Side View	Plan View	Side View	Plan View	Side View	Plan View	View	Plan View	View	Plan View	View	Plan View	Side View	Plan View	Side View	Plan View	Side View
Diagnostic	Three	Central	Three rays,	Calyx of	Three rays,	Calyx of	Three	Central	Four rays;	One ray	Four rays; all All rays		Subtriangular	Flat	Y-shaped	Flat	Small Y–	Flat
features	bifurcate	long and	equally	delicate	equally	delicate	bifurcate	short	three	is slightly	equally	equally	nannoliths	nannolith	nannoliths;	nannolith	shaped	nannolith
	rays,	elongate	positioned	laths	positioned	laths	rays,	spine(?)	coplanar	longer	positioned	long;	with three	surface	three rays.	surface	nannoliths;	surface
	equally	spine with	and	developed	and	developed	equally		and one	and with	and angled.	one	rays showing	with	Proximal	with	three rays.
	positioned	a terminal	angled;	on the	angled;	in between	positioned		more robust, a more		Rays with no slightly		membranous	a central	surface of	a central	Proximal
	and	robust	small	rays. The	bifurcation	the rays.	and		longer and	robust	longitudinal	more	material in	nodule	nannolith is	nodule	view of
	angled;	knob	bifurcation	calyx is	near the	The calyx is	angled;		thicker. All	and	ridges	robust	between		narrower		nannolith
	bifurcation		near the	slightly	nannolith	slightly	bifurcation		rays with	rounded		and			compared to		with a small
	near the		tip of the	thicker	center	thicker	near the		longitudinal	tip		longer			E. pusillus		and circular
	nannolith		rays	along its		along its	nannolith		ridges.	distally					comb. nov.		central pore.
	center			distal edge		distal edge	center
Coccosphere	2.6–4.3		4.3–5.2		2.6–5.3		5.5–6.2		3.0–3.8		3.6–4.4		7.5		5.5		4.5
diameter,
μm
Nannolith	0.25–0.6		0.6–1.3		0.4–0.8		0.25–0.55		0.30–0.51		0.29–0.53		0.37–0.85		0.37–0.60		0.17–0.33
size, μm
Ray length,	0.12–0.33		0.38–0.58		0.2–0.40		0.2–0.3		0.25–0.48		0.24–0.7		0.15–0.43		0.24–0.37		0.09–0.20
μm
Ray width,	0.02–0.09		0.04–0.10		0.04–0.10		0.07–0.13		0.03–0.10		0.05–0.07		0.05–0.08		0.02–0.04		0.02–0.03
μm