Morphology, biology and phylogeny of Phalansterium arcticum sp. n. (Amoebozoa, Variosea), isolated from ancient Arctic permafrost.

A new species, Phalansterium arcticum sp. n., was isolated from an 8580-year-old Arctic permafrost layer. This organism typically lives as a sedentary uniflagellated cell enclosed in a thin flexible mucilaginous sheath, but can form naked swimming cells and amoeboid cells with eruptive pseudopodia accompanied with the formation of short, filopodia-like projections. In an SSU rDNA phylogenetic tree, it robustly groups with other species of this genus. Along with a description of the species, we also add new details to the description of the cell division of Phalansterium and the feeding process in this organism.