Protistology 7 (2) 97–107 (2012) |
Description of five new species of hysterocinetian ciliates (Ciliophora, Hysterocinetidae), endocommensal in a terrestrial oligochaete of the genus Alma from Cameroon |
1 Laboratory of General Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon
Summary
Studies on five new species of hysterocinetian ciliates, endocommensal within a
terrestrial oligochaete from the genus Alma (Cameroon), reveal the existence of
three distinct types of cytoskeletal topography within their adhesive apparatus. In
the first topographical type, four superimposed antagonistic strata of skeletal fibres
that correspond to the arrangement observed in the genus Ptychostomum, Stein
1860 are found. The second topographical type is characterized by the existence
of an unorganized field of fibrillar structures forming a single dense mass in the
central part of the sucker. For this, a new genus is created: Ptychostomoides, Nana,
Fokam, Ntoungwa et al. n. g. The third type present in the genus Proptychostomoides,
Nana, Fokam, Ntoungwa et al. n. g. differs from the latter by the existence of a bare
patch within the central region of the adhesive apparatus. This new evidence of
morphological diversification within the Hysterocinetidae supports a new approach
to the systematics of this group.
Key words: Alma, ciliates, Hysterocinetidae, phylogeny, Proptychostomoides n. g., Ptychostomoides n. g., Ptychostomum
Address for correspondence: Paul Alain Nana. Laboratory of General Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon; e-mail: nanapaul4life@yahoo.fr |
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