Description of Cochliopodium spiniferum sp. n., with Notes on the Species Identification within the Genus Cochliopodium

The new species named Cochliopodium spiniferum was isolated from a low-saline habitat at the White Sea (north-western Russia). It is identical in the light-microscopical features to Cochliopodium sp. 3 described by Bark in 1973. In contrast, the scales comprising the tectum of these amoebae are different. This is the first evident case when two cochliopodiums are identical in LM, but differ in the scale structure, emphasizing the necessity of both LM and EM study for precise species identification within the genus Cochliopodium.