Peridinium, genus of cosmopolitan freshwater dinoflagellates in the family Peridiniaceae, consisting of at least 62 species. Most are found in freshwater lakes, ponds, and pools, though some inhabit brackish environments. The genus was initially described in the early 1830s by German scientist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, making it one of the first known groups of dinoflagellates.
Most Peridinium are circular or oval-shaped, range in colour from green to yellow or brown, and vary from about 0.01 to more than 0.1 mm (0.0004–0.004 inch) in diameter. The cell has a theca (tough outer covering) that is divided into two parts, an epitheca and a hypotheca, which are roughly equal in size and are separated by a deep groove known as the cingulum (or girdle); the cingulum frequently is offset, forming a jagged band across the cell. Extending from the cingulum through the hypotheca is a second large groove, the sulcus (which sometimes projects a short distance into the epitheca). Some species have short apical horns (at the top of the epitheca) or antapical horns (on the bottom of hypotheca). Both the epitheca and the hypotheca are divided into angular plates, the specific arrangement and ornamentation of which are key features of the genus. Characteristic of dinoflagellates, from the cingulum and sulcus of Peridinium emerge two flagella, which help to control movement through the water. Though motile, Peridinium also exist in planktonic (free-floating) and nonmotile states.
Few Peridinium appear to be purely autotrophic, deriving energy for growth solely through photosynthesis. Many species, rather, are thought to be mixotrophic, supplementing autotrophy with heterotrophy (ingestion of small organisms). Peridinium reproduce asexually and sexually. In the former, the vegetative (nonsex) cell sheds its thecal plates and divides by binary fission; the identical daughter cells then form new plates. In the latter, isogametes (identical sex cells) that result from vegetative cell division fuse to produce a motile planozygote, which increases in size and becomes a hypnozygote. A resting state then ensues, in which the enlarged, nonmotile hypnozygote encysts and sinks into the sediment. The latter stages of meiosis (reductive cell division) take place within the hypnozygotes, giving rise to new vegetative cells. The sediment seedbeds of hypnozygotes may enable occasional blooms (population increases) of Peridinium, which are known to impart a brownish discoloration to the water. Peridinium blooms have been studied extensively in the Sea of Galilee in Israel, where populations historically expanded to extreme levels around the month of March, creating a red tide-like effect.