Museoidusta

Note: Museoidusta is a fictional genus created for this article as an example of a taxonomic entry in speculative biology.

Museoidusta is a fictional genus of dinoflagellates in speculative biology. It comprises single-celled, photosynthetic plankton with two flagella and a flexible theca.

In the imagined taxonomy, it sits in the family Museoidaceae, order Gymnodiniales, class Dinophyceae, phylum Dinophyta.

The type species is Museoidusta luminis; other described species include Museoidusta aurora and Museoidusta nova.

Morphology features cells about 20–60 µm in diameter; pigment ranges from pale green to gold; the cells are capable of bioluminescence when stimulated.

Ecology: planktonic in temperate to tropical open-ocean waters; blooms under nutrient-rich conditions; forms transient interactions with bacteria and algae.

Reproduction and life cycle follow haplontic patterns typical of dinoflagellates, with vegetative stages and resting cysts during adverse conditions.

Distribution is described from imagined coastal regions of the Archipelago of Lyra in speculative literature; the concept is widely treated as cosmopolitan in open-water environments.

History and name: Museoidusta combines muse- with Greek eidos (resembling); proposed by fictional researchers A. K. Sato and M. Liu in 2141.

See also: bioluminescence, dinoflagellates, speculative biology.