Description ²

Karenia brevis is a microscopic, single-celled, photosynthetic organism that can "bloom" (see algal bloom) frequently along Florida, Texas, and Mexican coastal waters. Each cell has two flagella that allow it to move through the water in a spinning motion. K. brevis naturally produces a suite of potent neurotoxins collectively called brevetoxins, which cause gastrointestinal and neurological problems in other organisms and are responsible for large die-offs of marine organisms and seabirds. K. brevis is unarmored, and does not contain peridinin. Cells are between 20 and 40 μm in diameter.

Cells are squarish in outline and are strongly dorso-ventrally flattened. The girdle is not or only slightly displaced (and if displaced is descending)

Sources and Credits

1. (c) FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwc/5807660623/
2. Adapted by GTMResearchReserve from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karenia_brevis

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0

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