''Tripos muelleri'' is a species of

dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are ...

s of the genus '' Tripos''.

Anatomy

This

chromist Chromista is a biological kingdom consisting of single-celled and multicellular eukaryotic species that share similar features in their photosynthetic organelles (plastids). It includes all protists whose plastids contain chlorophyll ''c'', such ...

is easy to recognize and identify among all the

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

, because of its three horns in a pitchfork arrangement. The horn in the middle is called the apical horn, and it is used as a flagellum. The other two horns are called lateral horns, and they are solely used as an aid for flotation.

Habitat

This species lives along all the

on the ocean surface worldwide, where it is one of the

dominant species Ecological dominance is the degree to which one or several species have a major influence controlling the other species in their ecological community (because of their large size, population, productivity, or related factors) or make up more of ...

. Despite this, it is usually solitary, although during reproduction season, several individuals may congregate, all of their apical horns join. This occurs when a cell divides, so that the daughter cells remain together, linked in short

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

. This particular species may sometimes be

parasitized Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

by other

s or

protists A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the excl ...

History

''Tripos'' species were originally classified under the genus '' Ceratium'', however they were reclassified to the new genus ''Neoceratium'' in 2009 following a ribosomal RNA sequencing study. However, since the name ''Neoceratium'' was preceded by an older name ''Tripos'', all names were transferred to ''Tripos''.

References

Gonyaulacales Dinoflagellate species Protists described in 1826 {{dinoflagellate-stub