Dictyostelid cellular slime moulds in the forests of New Zealand

Abstract

During the period of February to April of 1998, soil/litter samples for isolation of dictyostelid cellular slime moulds were collected throughout New Zealand. Collecting sites included examples of main forest types found in the country and a range in latitude (35°S to 47°S) that encompassed most of New Zealand. Thirteen species of dictyostelids were recovered; all of these occurred at low frequencies and densities. This total included a number of species (e.g., Dictyostelium mucoroides and Polysphondylium violaceum) that are common and widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere as well as several other species that have a more restricted distribution. Among the latter are Dictyostelium fasciculatum, not previously known outside of Europe, and D. rosarium, previously reported from only a few scattered localities in the Northern Hemisphere. Five of the species recovered (D. antarcticum, D. australe, D. leptosomum, D. quercibrachium, and P. anisocaule) are described for the first time. New Zealand is the most isolated land mass of its size in the world, and the assemblage of dictyostelids present is quite distinctive and seems to reflect this isolation.

Keywords:

• biogeography
• dictyostelids
• ecology
• forests
• New Zealand
• soils
• taxonomy