Morphological and taxonomical studies on two soil haptorid ciliates (Ciliophora, Litostomatea): Clavoplites haranti sp. n. and Enchelys terrenum ( ) comb. n., and taxonomy of the family Enchelyidae Ehrenberg, 1838

Abstract

The morphology and infraciliature of two soil haptorid ciliates, Clavoplites haranti sp. n. and Enchelys terrenum ( Foissner, 1984) comb. n., collected from Malé Karpaty Mts. and Biele Karpaty Mts. (Slovakia), were investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation. Clavoplites haranti is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters including: theronts spatulate to slenderly fusiform, trophonts bursiform, size about 60×25 μm in vivo; massive oral bulge with broadly clavate to lemon-shaped, 1.5–2 μm long extrusomes arranged in a ring in oral bulge; ellipsoidal macronucleus and one globular micronucleus; on average 13 ciliary rows, 3 anteriorly differentiated to an inconspicuous dorsal brush. Enchelys terrenum is about 85×30 μm in size and differs from its congeners by a combination of characters including spatulate shape; massive oral bulge with 4–6 μm long, fusiform extrusomes arranged in a ring in oral bulge; ellipsoidal to reniform macronucleus and one globular micronucleus; usually 19 ciliary rows, 3 anteriorly differentiated to an ordinary dorsal brush. The diagnoses of the family Enchelyidae and the genus Enchelys are improved. The new genus Armatoenchelys differs from the genera Enchelys and Apoenchelys in having both body and oral bulge extrusomes. Enchelys geleii, E. longitricha, and E. vermiformis are transferred to the new genus.