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KOFOID TABULATION SYSTEM:
The
tabulation system developed by Kofoid (1907b,c, 1909, 1911a) and employing four
landmarks: the
sulcus, the
cingulum, the
apex (usually determined by the
apical pore complex), and the
antapex. The
plates immediately
anterior to the cingulum constitute the
precingular series; the plates immediately posterior to the cingulum constitute the
postcingular series; the plates contacting the apical pore complex make up the
apical series; and the plates in the region of the antapex constitute the
antapical series. Plates occurring between the precingular and apical series and between the postcingular and antapical series are termed
anterior intercalary plates and
posterior intercalary plates respectively. Plates in the cingulum constitute the
cingular series and those in the sulcus are
sulcal plates. In the Kofoid tabulation system the individual plates in each series (except the sulcals) are numbered consecutively, starting with the plate closest to the midventral position and circling the cell parallel to the
transverse flagellum - i.e. anticlockwise in apical view and
proximal to
distal in respect to the flagellum itself. Kofoid (1909) used a superscript notation to designate each series in conjunction with the number of the plate in question. This has been variously modified over the years, and the following symbols are used herein: apicals ('), anterior intercalaries (a), precingulars (''), cingulars (c), postcingulars ('''), posterior intercalaries (p), antapicals ('''') and sulcals (s). The following abbreviations are used herein to designate specific sulcal plates:
anterior sulcal plate (as),
right accessory sulcal plate (ras),
right sulcal plate (rs),
left sulcal plate (ls) and
posterior sulcal plate (ps).
Neontologists generally use the designations Sa, Sra, Sd, Ss and Sp respectively for these sulcal plates. The
transitional plate on the
left side of the
sulcus in many peridinialeans is designated as "t". Plate
sutures are designated by the labels for each of the two adjacent plates separated by a slash: thus, for example, 6''/1' designates the suture between the sixth
precingular plate and the first
apical plate. Refer to Text-Figures 13-14.
DINOFLAJ (c) 1998