Description of the new genus Hysterocinetoides (Ciliophora, Hysterocinetidae) and revision of the systematics of the subclass Hysterocinetia

Abstract

Two new species belonging to the new genus Hysterocinetoides are described after protargol staining. They were found in the intestine of worms of the genus Alma (Oligochaeta, Glossoscolecidae) from Cameroon. Their buccal apparatus and kinetosomal infraciliature are typically those of the family Hysterocinetidae. But the sucker has an inverted-U shape and is devoid of skeletal fibers and isolated segments of kineties. These characters justify the creation of the new genus. A review of the diversification of genera among the family Hysterocinetidae is followed by a revision of the systematics of the subclass Hysterocinetia.