Dolichospermum

with coiled trichomes
PVIK – open version

Trichomes clearly coiled, regularly or irregularly.

In Dolichospermum species the akinete is a very important feature in identifying. That is why this feature was chosen to the key, although you can’t always see any akinetes. The length of the akinete is filled under the graphic, on the left side – Measured length. Normally this place is for the length of the cell, but with heteocytous cyanobateria you measure the akinete.

Well, if you can’t see any akinetes? You can still use the width of the vegetative cell and all the filters. You just fill in the width of the cell on the right side, under the graphic, and choose the filters that are suitable. PVIK will help you anyway to narrow down the possible species of that width.

Or you can unselect Filter by measurements which enables you to see all the species as candidates. Now you can use the other filters and see if you get a match.

When you have the akinete too – bingo! You get even a nicer short list of candidates.

Species in PVIK:
Dolichospermum berezowskii
Dolichospermum circinale
Dolichospermum compactum
Dolichospermum crassum
Dolichospermum curvum
Dolichospermum ellipsoides
Dolichospermum farciminiforme
Dolichospermum flos-aquae
Dolichospermum lemmermannii
Dolichospermum longicellulare
Dolichospermum mendotae
Dolichospermum mucosum
Dolichospermum perturbatum
Dolichospermum sigmoideum
Dolichospermum skujaelaxum
Dolichospermum spiroides

Literature used for the key:
Komárek, Jirí . 2013. Cyanoprokaryota, Teil 3: Heterocytous Genera. Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa, Band. 19. Springer Spectrum, 1130 p.