Observations on the rectal ciliates of the genus Balantidium, Claparede and Lachmann, 1858 from Indian amphibians Rana tigrina and R. cyanophlyctis

Abstract

Summary 8 new species of the genus Balantidium , Claparede and Lachmann , 1858, are described namely B. tigrinae, B. aurangabadensis, B. ranae , from Rana tigrina , and B. megastomae, B. mininucleatum, B. ganapatii, B. cyanophlycti and B. corlissi from the rectum of Rana cyanophlyctis , all in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. B. tigrinae has a “C” shaped macronucleus and an asymmetrical sac like vestibule, while B. aurangabadensis has a sausage shaped macronucleus and a funnel like vestibule. B. ranae has an oval macronucleus and a vestibule which is some what “V” shaped and with a constriction near the middle. The macronucleus is lobed in B. megastomae small and spherical in B. mininucleatum , elongated and ovoid in B. ganapatii and sausage shaped in B. cyanophlycti and B. corlissi . The vestibule is very wide in B. megastomae and short and sac like in B. ganapatii . It is “U” shaped in the other 3 species but varies in size and position.