Description of Eurystomatella sinica n. gen., n. sp., with establishment of a new family Eurystomatellidae n. fam. (Protista, Ciliophora, Scuticociliatia) and analyses of its phylogeny inferred from sequences of the small-subunit rRNA gene.
Recently, an undescribed marine ciliate was isolated from China. Investigation of its morphology and infraciliature revealed it as an undescribed species representing a new genus, Eurystomatella n. gen., the type of the new family Eurystomatellidae n. fam. The new family is defined by close-set, apically positioned oral membranelles and a dominant buccal field that is surrounded by an almost completely circular paroral membrane. The new genus is defined by having a small oral membranelle 1 (M1), bipartite M2 and well-developed M3, a body surface faintly sculptured with a silverline system in a quadrangular, reticulate pattern and a cytostome located at the anterior third of a large buccal field. The type species of the new genus, Eurystomatella sinica n. sp., is a morphologically unique form that is defined mainly by the combination of a conspicuously flattened body, several caudal cilia, extremely long cilia associated with the buccal apparatus and a contractile vacuole located subcaudally. According to phylogenetic analyses of small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene sequences, Eurystomatella clusters with the genus Cyclidium, as a sister group to the family Pleuronematidae. The great divergence in both buccal and somatic ciliature between Eurystomatella and all other known scuticociliates supports the establishment of a new family for Eurystomatella.
Miao
Miao
M
Laboratory of Protozoology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China.
Wang
Yangang
Y
Laboratory of Protozoology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China.
Song
Weibo
W
Laboratory of Protozoology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, PR China.
Clamp
John C
JC
Department of Biology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA.
Al-Rasheid
Khaled A S
KAS
Zoology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
D001483:Base Sequence; D002681:China; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D016802:Oligohymenophorea / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010802:Phylogeny; D054682:Ribosome Subunits, Small, Eukaryotic / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000469:parasitology*