A description of Pyrodinium bahamense (Dinophyceae) from the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA

The primary focus of this paper is to provide a detailed description of Pyrodinium bahamense from the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Recent reports of saxitoxin production by P. bahamense from the Indian River lagoon has heightened interest in the similarities between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific forms of this species. Microscopic examinations of samples from the Indian River Lagoon using light and scanning electron microscopy suggest that the Atlantic form deserves the separate varietal designation of bahamense assigned to it in recent years, distinguishing it from the Indo-Pacific var. compressum. This conclusion was based on key morphological and dimensional characteristics.