This genus was created to accommodate its type species, Durinskia baltica, after major classification discrepancies were found.

While Durinskia species appear to be typical dinoflagellates that are armored with cellulose plates called theca, the presence of a pennate diatom-derived tertiary endosymbiont is their most defining characteristic.

[2] Durinskia baltica was originally described as a brackish water unicellular dinoflagellate and named as Glenodinium cinctum by Levander in 1892.

[5] One of the defining character of Cleistoperidinium is its lack of an apical pore, a criterion Durinskia baltica does not fulfil.

[7] Upon an investigation conducted by Carty and Cox (1986), Durinskia baltica was determined to belong in a different genus than Peridinium.

[2][8] After the discovery of these significant morphological differences, a new genus named Durinskia was accepted to accommodate D. baltica.

The known species of this genus, D.baltica, D. oculata, D. agilis and D. capensis, can be isolated from a variety of freshwater and marine habitats.

[8] D. oculata can be found at its type locality (Vltava river at Prague[10]), but also in Ampola Lake in Italy.

Orange-red blooms of D. capensis are observed in salty tidal pools along the west coast of Kommetjie, Cape Province, South Africa.

As this genus containing species is part of the subphylum Alveolata and phylum Dinoflagellata, it has the defining characteristics of these groups.

[12] One of Durinskia’s shared characteristics with some dinoflagellates is the cellulose plates contained in alveoli forming the outer armor, theca.

The other shared characteristics between Durinskia and dinoflagellates include the presence of condensed chromosomes in the large nucleus called the dinokaryon, and the two surface grooves that each bears one flagellum.

However, the diatom can no longer function as a separate entity as it has lost its cell wall, motility and ability to mitotically divide.