Dapedophrya
Dapedophrya Foissner, 1995 (ref. ID; 4861 original paper)
[ref. ID; 4861]
Diagnosis; Medium-sized Jaroschiidae (?) with three differently shaped oral ciliary fields and short, almost straight preoral suture containing few brick-shaped adoral organelles. Left (second) oral ciliary field almost circular, gradually narrowing from left to right. (ref. ID; 4861)
Comparison with related genera; Like Jaroschia Foissner, 1993 and Pentahymena Foissner, 1994, Dapedophrya either belongs to the colpodid subclass Colpodia or Bryometopia (Foissner, 1993). Even its family classification is uncertain, because D. flexilis has characters of Bryophrya (rather simple oral structures) and Jaroschia (shape of left oral polykinetid like ciliary field 4, silverline system irregularly reticulate). In fact, Dapedophrya looks like a highly simplified Jaroschia or a slightly modified Bryophrya. I thus asked Prof. J. Grain (Univ. Clermont-Ferrand) for the original material of their redescription (Grain et al. 1979) of B. bavariensis, type of genus. The micrographs sent from protargol impregnated specimens indeed show the large right oral ciliary field described by these authors. Thus, Bryophrya differs significantly from Dapedophrya, which has an enlarged left oral ciliary field. Generally, the differences between the Bryophryidae and Jaroschiidae, as defined by Foissner (1993), have become less distinct by the discovery of Dapedophrya and Pentahymena Foissner, 1994. Possibly, the main difference concerns the oral ciliary fields: the right field is more developed in the Bryophryidae than in the Jaroschiidae, the left vestibular slope of which not only bears small brick-shaped adoral organelles, as in Bryophrya, but also a heavy ciliary field (polykinetid). (ref. ID; 4861)
Etymology; Composite of "dapedo" (soil) and "phrya" (hair); both Greek. Feminine. The name refers to its occurrence in soil. (ref. ID; 4861)
Type species; Dapedophrya flexilis (Penard, 1922) nov. comb. (Basionyms: Glaucoma flexilis Penard, 1922 and Bryophrya flexilis Foissner, 1993). (ref. ID; 4861)
- Dapedophrya flexilis (Penard, 1922) Foissner, 1995 (ref. ID; 4861 redescribed paper)
Basionyms; Bryophrya flexilis Foissner, 1993 (ref. ID; 4861); Glaucoma flexilis Penard, 1922 (ref. ID; 4861)
Dapedophrya flexilis (Penard, 1922) Foissner, 1995 (ref. ID; 4861 redescribed paper)
Basionyms
Bryophrya flexilis Foissner, 1993 (ref. ID; 4861); Glaucoma flexilis Penard, 1922 (ref. ID; 4861)
Redescription
Only few well-impregnated specimens were found in the protargol slides. Morphometry is thus incomplete. In vivo 60-80 um long, ellipsoid to slightly reniform, right and dorsal side convex, left and ventral side slightly indented at oral apparatus, both ends broadly rounded, right anterior portion slanted. Very flexible and slightly flattened dorsoventrally. Macronucleus usually globular, rarely slightly ellipsoid, near centre of cell; nucleolus reticulate. Usually 3-4 micronuclei, about 3x2 um in size, attached to macronucleus; one of the specimen observed possibly had 1 micronucleus only. Contractile vacuole with 2 collecting canal each having ampulla-like dilation near distal end, discharges via tubular excretory pore near centre of posterior pole. Cortex slightly furrowed by somatic kineties, very flexible and fragile, contains many silvery shining, about 1 um sized granules, possibly mitochondria, which do not stain with methyl green-pyronin and protargol. No extrusomes recognizable in vivo and with the staining methods applied. Cytoplasm colourless, postorally with few to many globular (not fusiform, as in Parabryophrya; Foissner 1993), 4-8 um sized, conspicuously compact food vacuoles possibly containing bacteria and fungal spores. Moves slowly by rotating about main body axis, never rests. 31 somatic kineties on average, consist of slightly inclined dikinetids having cilia about 8 um long. Kineties evenly spaced, commence around vestibular opening and along preoral suture, most extend to posterior end of organism. Oral apparatus in anterior ventral third. Vestibular opening oval to almost circular, somewhat obliquely orientated to longitudinal body axis; vestibulum deep, bowl-like, contains oral ciliary field 2. First (rightmost) oral ciliary field composed of 3 vestibular kineties on right slope of vestibulum, consists of narrowly spaced, zigzag-like arranged dikinetids, producing dense ciliary plate. Second oral ciliary field on inner and lateral wall of vestibulum, almost circular, i.e. interrupted only anteriorly, orientated perpendicularly to cell surface and thus appearing as thin line if cell is viewed ventrally; consists of many oblique, short kineties whose length decreases from left to right. Third (leftmost) oral ciliary field on left slope of vestibulum and in preoral suture, consists of about 5 brick-shaped adoral organelles extending from proximal vertex of vestibular opening to anterior pole of cell; individual organelles composed of 2-3 kineties with 2-4 basal bodies each, proximal (two) organelle(s) tail-like. Silverline system tightly and irregularly meshed. (ref. ID; 4861)
Identification
Penard's (1922) description is not very detailed and Kahl (1931) even suggested synonymy with Bryophrya bavariensis. However, this can be excluded if my identification is accepted [see genus discussion and Foissner (1993) for a detailed review of all species concerned]. There are three characters mentioned in the original description which forced me to identify my population as G. flexilis Penard, 1922, viz. the straight preoral suture (although drawn by Penard at right edge of oral apparatus), the conspicuous cortical granules which are not extruded when chemicals are applied, and the circular oral apparatus which appears very similar in my and Penard's drawing. Furthermore, size, shape and nuclear apparatus match rather well. (ref. ID; 4861)
Type specimens deposited
Slides with type and voucher specimens have been deposited in the Oberosterreichische Landesmuseum in Linz (LI), Austria. Relevant specimens are marked by a black ink circle on the cover glass. (ref. ID; 4861)