This diversity is confirmed by numerous examples of cryptic diversity reported in classical DNA barcoding studies (Fontaneto et al., 2008 Kosakyan et al., 2012 Kumar & Foissner, 2016 Mann, 2010 Pawlowski et al., 2008), as was first documented for insects (Hebert et al., 2004). The magnitude of protist diversity is now believed to exceed that of bacteria (Delgado‐Baquerizo et al., 2018) and fungi (Tedersoo et al., 2014), at least in the ocean (de Vargas et al., 2015) but recent work also suggests that this may be the case for terrestrial soil (Geisen et al., 2018). More recent developments such as high throughput sequencing of environmental DNA (eDNA) are allowing large amounts of genetic data to be generated revealing a huge, mostly unknown, diversity of microorganisms including bacteria (Delgado‐Baquerizo et al., 2018), fungi (Nilsson et al., 2019), protists (Mahé et al., 2017) and micro‐Metazoa (van den Hoogen et al., 2019). With subsequent improvements in optics, along with the exploration of various habitats and regions of the World a broad range of microbes was gradually described, gaining momentum in the 19th and early 20th century by pioneers such as Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, Ernst Haeckel, Josef Leidy and Eugène Penard (Ehrenberg, 1838 Haeckel, 1899–1904 Leidy, 1879 Penard, 1902). The invention of the microscope in the late 16th century paved a new era of observation and discovery by making the microbial world accessible to scientific researchers. However, when we consider the lack of knowledge of the microbial world, every sample can be an unexplored island for the curious protistologist with an inclination for natural history. Traveling back in time to experience such thrill first hand is, unfortunately, not possible. ![]() As over 90% of New Zealand's peatlands have been lost since European colonization and much of the remaining surfaces are threatened, Apodera angatakere could be a flagship species not only for microbial biogeography but also for island biodiversity conservation.Īnyone with a sense for adventure may dream about the age of discovery (15th–17th century period), during which time the New World was (re)discovered and many new inventions made that changed our perception of the world. It is one of the few examples of endemic microorganisms from this biodiversity hotspot and biogeographer's paradise. This conspicuous species is so far known only from New Zealand and is restricted to peatlands. Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI) sequence data show that this species forms a distinct clade nested within genus Apodera. Through a process involving The Māori Language Commission, we named the species Apodera angatakere, meaning “a shell with a keel.” This species resembles Apodera vas but differs by the presence of a distinctive hollow keel. Here we report a new flagship species of hyalospheniid (Amoebozoa Arcellinida Hyalospheniformes) testate amoeba from New Zealand and an unusual story of overlooked description under a preoccupied name and subsequent oversight for nearly one century. While much of this unknown diversity is composed of inconspicuous flagellates and parasites, larger and morphologically distinct protists are regularly discovered, most notably from poorly studied regions. As over 90% of New Zealand's peatlands have been lost since European colonization and much of the remaining surfaces are threatened, Apodera angatakere could be a flagship species not only for microbial biogeography but also for island biodiversity conservation.Įukaryotic microbial diversity is known to be extensive but remains largely undescribed and uncharted. Through a process involving The Māori Language Commission, we named the species Apodera angatakere, meaning "a shell with a keel." This species resembles Apodera vas but differs by the presence of a distinctive hollow keel. ![]() Eukaryotic microbial diversity is known to be extensive but remains largely undescribed and uncharted.
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