Descriptions of two new marine species of Pleuronema, P. czapikae sp. n. and P. wiackowskii sp. n. (Ciliophora: Scuticociliatida), from the Yellow Sea, North China.

Abstract

Pleuronema is a scuticociliate genus that includes more than 20 species, most of which are marine. The majority of these are known from insufficient morphological studies. During a recent survey of sand-dwelling ciliates in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, China, two undescribed scuticociliates were isolated from a beach at Qingdao. Based on observations in vivo and following silver impregnation, it was found that these represent two new members of the genus Pleuronema, P. czapikae and P. wiackowskii, both of which possess a unique combination of characters relating to the oral ciliature and the nuclear apparatus. Compared with its congeners, P. czapikae can be clearly recognized by having a coronatum-type oral apparatus and 6–16 globular macronuclear nodules, whereas P. wiackowskii is characterized by having a marinum-like oral apparatus and a long, sausage-shaped macronucleus