I consider this illustration special because my main source for drawing Cryptomonas species is usually the illustrations already in Clay (2015); you can see that my inspiration clearly comes from there. But there isn't a previous illustration of this species, only micrographs that don't provide much information. You could say this is one of my first Cryptomonas illustrations that "almost came from nowhere," except for the text and the limited photographic information available. Yes, this is a paragraph where I declare that I'm proud of what I'm doing.
The illustrations are free to use under CC BY-SA 4.0, non-commercial, attribution required (DOTkamina 2026).
This species belongs to the family Cryptomonadaceae, order Cryptomonadales, class Cryptophyceae (commonly called "cryptomonad algae"). You know where this is going: cryptomonad algae are then included in the subphylum Rollomonadia, phylum Cryptista, subkingdom Hacrobia, kingdom Chromista.
The kingdom Chromista is related to the clade Archaeplastida, which includes algae that are relatives and ancestors of plants. You might also encounter another classification, where the phylum Cryptista is included in the clade Pancryptista, which is related to Archaplastida, and both form the large CAM clade. But that's not really important; the point is that Cryptomonas tetrapyrenoidosa is another distant relative of plant ancestors.
The information written here, as well as the illustrations themselves, were based on the following sources:
I drew this organism because it had a very long name. Which also gives many clues about its appearance: it has four pyrenoids, two in each chloroplast. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case; the number of pyrenoids can range from 6 to 7. It also has starch grains throughout the cell. By the way, C. tetrapyrenoidosa has two chloroplasts.
The name in
Choi et al. (2013) should be noted that refers to
Cryptomonas tetrapyrenoidosa (Skuja) Hoef-Emden et Melkonian 2003, a name whose equivalence to
C. tetrapyrenoidosa Skuja, 1948, the species I have represented here, is uncertain.
According to
Protist Information Server (2018), the species has two
refractile bodies in the cell center. I am unsure if this term is equivalent to "maupas bodies," as they are technically the same in behavior: two structures found in several species (not only
Cryptomonas, but also
Chilomonas) that reflect light, hence their white and shiny appearance. However, I have decided to retain the term "refractile bodies" because, let's be honest, I am not an expert on this either. In
Clay (2015) Figure 6G, two white oval-shaped circles can be seen in the cell center, which I consider micrographic visual evidence of these structures.
In
Clay (2015) Figure 9A, there is an electron micrograph of the cell exterior of
C. tetrapyrenoidosa which, thankfully, provides sufficient visual information about the shape of the
vestibulum, the flagellar insertion, and the
stoma location within the
furrow. I have attempted to represent it somewhere between reality (that Figure 9A) and a more "simplified" way within the context of my illustration. I hope this is clear. In the illustration, I refer to the thin black line ending at the stoma as the "furrow," but the rest of the groove (dark gray) surrounding that black line would also be part of the "furrow." My intention was to depict the furrow as a groove-like structure with depth. I don't think I achieved that goal very well, to be honest.
Of course, there is a
gullet, which has
ejectisomes surrounding it. I don't know the exact arrangement, but I decided to use three rows of ejectisomes because that seems to be "the standard" in
Cryptomonas species, according to the
Protist Information Server (2018). But assume there can be more. Hey, while I'm at it, did you notice I used a different brush for the ejectisomes? IbisPaint has a special brush that you can temporarily unlock by watching an ad, and it draws like 3D beads. I thought it wouldn't look good, but I already tried it on the
Cryptomonas erosa illustration and it turned out great, so I think I'll keep using it for a while longer.
The color is almost speculative, since in the
Protist Information Server (2018) the cells appear bright green, but I've illustrated some
Cryptomonas species before (not that many, but you get the idea) and they're always around a brownish color, so that's the color I decided to use for this illustration. They're also represented that way in
CCAP (n.d.).
Regarding the
flagella, their dimensions are almost speculative; I drew them by roughly estimating their size relative to the cell size in
Clay (2015) Figure 9A. This time, unlike other species I have already illustrated, I am certain of the arrangement and shape of the mastigonemes on the flagella, since
Kugrens et al. (1987) directly mentions that
C. tetrapyrenoidosa has
type I flagella. And this consists of: the
long (dorsal) flagellum has two opposing rows of mastigonemes, each with a single terminal filament. The
short (ventral) flagellum also has a single row of mastigonemes, each with two terminal filaments of different lengths. Additionally, there are approximately three terminal hairs at the end of the dorsal flagellum.
Both the mastigonemes and the additional filaments and hairs can only be seen with an electron microscope. Don't expect to see them with a light microscope. Even the flagella are sometimes difficult to see with a light microscope. I almost forgot: both flagella are located on the right side of the vestibule. That's from a dorsal view. In a ventral view, they appear to be on the left, but that's just an illusion!
Additionally, according to
Clay (2015),
Cryptomonas species generally have two
nucleomorphs between the nucleus and the pyrenoids. Unfortunately,
C. erosa does not have pyrenoids, so I have drawn the nucleomorphs above the nucleus. The nucleomorphs in this illustration are therefore
speculative.
The shapes of the single reticulated mitochondrion, Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum are also speculative. In the case of the mitochondrion, it's a predicted reticulated shape based on what Santore and Greenwood (1977) explains, where it's mentioned that Cryptomonas has a single mitochondrion with numerous branches distributed throughout the cell, concentrated in areas like the gullet. It's assumed that these mitochondrial branches should have different thicknesses in various sections, but in my drawing, the width of these branches is almost uniform.
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| Will there be rule 34 of my OC? |
I should be doing other things right now. Especially since I also have to study some user guides for special cameras. Because, as I mentioned in a previous post, next week I'll be going on a trip that could lead to my first real job. I'm excited about that, as well as about reaching 20 illustrations. I need to hurry and upload these files online and keep expanding my reach.
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