Warnowia

The first description of the genus was in 1895 by Schütt, who called it Pouchetia, and designated the type species Pouchetia fusus. In 1921, Kofoid & Swezy described many new species of Pouchetia in a collection of notes on free-living athecate dinoflagellates. Although today it is commonly believed that many of the species described by Kofoid & Swezy are conspecific, their thorough and numerable descriptions of marine protists remain an admirable feat and a useful resource. It was not until 1928 that the genus Warnowia was born, through the redesignation of many of the species in the genus Pouchetia by Lindemann. Consequently, the type species Pouchetia fusus was renamed Warnowia fusus. In 1930, a new species of Warnowia (Warnowia dohrnii) was described by Zimmermann, indicating that the genus had been generally accepted in the scientific canon by that time. == Habitat and ecology ==

Warnowia is abundant in coastal and pelagic waters worldwide. The distribution of this genus stretches from warm temperate and tropical seas to the more northerly waters receiving warm currents from these warmer regions. In Europe, Warnowia has been sampled from the English Channel, Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea and Nordic Seas. Warnowia has also been collected from the southwest Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Argentina. Warnowia falls into the category of picoplankton, which constitutes a part of the picoeukaryotes community, and fills the ecological role of micro-consumers. In addition to being found in coastal waters worldwide, Warnowia has a dynamic role in the planktonic community of the oligotrophic, nutrient-poor Sargasso Sea. Warnowia represents a dominant component of the protists present in springtime in the Sargasso Sea. In the summer, Warnowia is still present but is not the dominant group. Seasonal shifts in Warnowia and other protists indicate a complex recycling food web in the Sargasso Sea, which helps to mitigate the low-nutrient availability of the open ocean. The presence of Warnowia in nutrient-rich coastal ecosystems as well as nutrient-poor pelagic ones suggests that it can survive under a wide range of nutrient availabilities, though it is unknown how they can be so dynamic. == Description of organism ==

Morphology and anatomy Warnowia is a genus of heterotrophic athecate, or unarmored, dinoflagellates. The presence of identifiable Warnowia cysts and their morphological similarity to acritarchs supports the idea that athecate dinoflagellates may be represented by acritarchs in the ancient fossil record. == List of species ==

The following species are recognized in this genus: == References ==