A list of free-living dinoflagellate species in the world’s oceans

A checklist of free-living marine dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae) is given. The nomenclature is brought up to date and synonyms are included. The spelling of several taxa is corrected according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). A total of 1555 species (117 genera) constitute the free-living marine dinoflagellates, with 135 new species in the period 1993 to 2003. The most numerous genera are: Protoperidinium (264 species), Gymnodinium (173 species), Dinophysis+Phalacroma (104+41 species), Gyrodinium (87 species), Amphidinium (76 species), Histioneis (65 species), Ceratium (64 species) and Gonyaulax (60 species).