New contributions to the marine hypotrichous ciliate, Pseudokeronopsis qingdaoensis Hu & Song, 2000 (Protozoa : Ciliophora : Stichotrichida)

摘要

A reinvestigation on the morphology and classification of Pseudokeronopsis qingdaoensis Hu & Song, 2000, a large and unique marine ciliate collected from the coastal water near Qingdao, China, was performed using living observation and silver impregnation methods. Based on previous and the current studies, a redescription and an updated diagnosis are supplied: marine Pseudokeronopsis; 150-300 x 40-70 mum in vivo; body colourless, flexible, and contractile. Bicorona comprising about 15 pairs of frontal cirri; 6-13 buccal and 2 (rarely 4) frontoterminal cirri; transverse row with 25-45 cirri extending to anterior 2/5 of cell; midventral complex consisting of two conspicuously separated rows with c. 40 pairs of cirri; distal end of adoral zone curved posteriorly to about cytostome level; constantly 3 dorsal kinetics. Two kinds of cortical granules: one tiny and colourless; another one large and about 2 mum across, brownish to brown-reddish, blood-cell-shaped, distributed sparsely. Contractile vacuole positioned in anterior 1/3 of body. More than 100 macronuclear segments.