SOME HETEROTROPHIC FLAGELLATES FROM A CULTIVATED GARDEN SOIL IN AUSTRALIA

The flagellates of an Australian garden soil were studied by placing c overslips on wet soil and subsequently examining the coverslips by lig ht microscopy. A number of genera and species were found which have no t previously been reported from soil samples. Besides the three new sp ecies, Apusomonas australiensis sp. nov., Peltomonas haneli sp. nov., and Sciviamonas terricola gen. nov. sp. nov. they include species from the genera Amastigomonas, Cryptaulax, Paraphysomonas, and Protaspis. Among genera which have been reported from soils, we recorded a number of species previously unreported from soils: Petalomonas pusilla, Bic osoeca epiphytica, Bicosoeca mignotii, and Ancyromonas sigmoides. In a ddition, we extracted a number of forms which have been found in soil but which are usually not considered as members of the soil flagellate community. They are: Codosiga botrytis, Salpingoeca amphoridium, and Goniomonas truncata. Only a minority of the taxa recorded are thought of as common and widespread in soils, they include: Apusomonas probosc idea, and species of Cercomonas and Spumella. At least part of the dif ference between communities of flagellates from freshwaters and those of soils are due to different sampling methods and not only to the exi stence of different communities.