Spirotrichonympha minor n. sp., a new hypermastigote termite flagellate

Abstract

Summary Spirotrichonympha minor n. sp. is an undescribed hypermastigote flagellate from the lower termite Kalotermes sinaicus . It was examined light microscopically in live and protargol stained preparations and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. S. minor's main characteristics are: body ovoid to pear-shaped (8–31 × 5–22 μm); two to eight rows of flagella which are arranged in a righthanded spiral of about one turn, the flagellar rows end near the posterior end of the body; a rounded or elongate nucleus (4×3.2 μm) lying close to the anterior end of the cell; rounded to elongate parabasal bodies which follow the course of the flagellar bands; several anterior branches of the axostyle coalesce into a thin trunk posterior to the nucleus, rarely protruding at the posterior cell pole; and endocytobiotic methanogenic bacteria. Ultrastructurally visible features are: tapering flagella part of which are equipped with a brush-like glycocalyx; anterior basal bodies of the flagellar bands lying perpendicular to a tube-like structure of the rostrum; and no permanent atractophores. The reasons to place Spirotrichonympha minor n. sp. in the genus Spirotrichonympha and to create a new species are discussed.