Free-living Heterotrophic Flagellates (Protista) from Two Hypersaline Lakes in Turkey.

This study was carried out in two hypersaline lakes (Acı and Meke Lakes) in Turkey to understand the diversity and geographic distribution of free-living heterotrophic flagellates. Heterotrophic flagellates of hypersaline environments have not previously been studied in Turkey. We found seventeen morphospecies of heterotrophic flagellates with one unidentified protist. The observed species belong to Craspedida, Heterolobosea, Apusomonadida, Neobodonida, Bicosoecida and Protista incertae sedis. Of the 17 species, ten species were new records for Turkey. All of the morphospecies described here except one unidentified protist were previously reported elsewhere and appear to be cosmopolitan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]