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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Thuricola

Thuricola Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 1248, 2014)

Class Oligohymenophora: Subclass Peritricha: Order Peritrichida: Suborder Sessilina (ref. ID; 2014)
Family Vaginicolidae Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 1248)

[ref. ID; 2014]
Body elongate and trumpet-shaped, which in most species is attached posteriorly to the base of the lorica directly but in some there is an intervening stalk between the body and lorica. The lorica erect and always joins the substratum without the presence of an external stalk. About two-thirds up the inner face of the lorica there is a valve (exceptionally 2) which closes when the animal contracts. The macronucleus either ribbon-like or moniliform. This is a freshwater epiphytic genus which is most easily confused with Vaginicola whose lorica is without valves, and with Pseudothuricola whose lorica is mounted upon a stalk.
Quote; Colin R. Curds, Michael A. Gates and David McL. Roberts "British and other freshwater ciliated protozoa Part II Ciliophora: Oligohymenophora and Polyhymenophora" Cambridge University Press, 1983 (ref. ID; 2014)
  1. Thuricola amphora Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 1248 original paper)
    See; Thuricola kellicottiana (ref. ID; 4610)
  2. Thuricola constricta Kusters, 1774 (ref. ID; 4654 original paper)
  3. Thuricola folliculata (O.F. Muller, 1786) (ref. ID; 4152, 7573, 7545, 7669, 7697) reported year? (ref. ID; 1219, 1618), (O.F. Muller, 1786) Fromentel-Kent (ref. ID; 1248, 1557, 1620, 1629, 2245, 2563) or (O.F. Muller, 1786) Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 7653), Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 4610) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 191, 3689)
  4. Thuricola gracilis Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 1248 original paper)
  5. Thuricola innixa (Stokes, 1885) (ref. ID; 1620)
  6. Thuricola kamptostoma Bock (ref. ID; 2336 original paper)
  7. Thuricola kellicottiana (Stokes, 1887) (ref. ID; 1557, 1620, 1629, 2245) or (Stokes, 1887) Kahl, 1935 (ref. ID; 4610)
    Syn; Cothurnia castellensis Penard, 1914 (ref. ID; 1620, 4610); Cothurnia kellicottiana Penard, 1914 (ref. ID; 1557) or 1922 (ref. ID; 1620); Thuricola amphora Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 4610); Thuricolopsis kellicottiana Stokes, 1887 (ref. ID; 4610)
  8. Thuricola obconica Kahl, 1933 (ref. ID; 1335, 1620, 2336, 4654)
  9. Thuricola obliqua Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 1248 original paper)
  10. Thuricola pediculata Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 1248 original paper)
  11. Thuricola similis Bock (ref. ID; 2563 original paper)
  12. Thuricola valvata (Wright, 1858) (ref. ID; 1620, 4654) or 1862 (ref. ID; 2336)
    Syn; Cothurnia operculata Gruber, 1879 (ref. ID; 1620, 4654)
  13. Thuricola vasiformis Hammann, 1952 (ref. ID; 1557, 1629, 4610)
  14. Thuricola viridis Sommer, 1951 (ref. ID; 1248 original paper)

Thuricola folliculata (O.F. Muller, 1786) (ref. ID; 4152, 7573, 7545, 7669, 7697) reported year? (ref. ID; 1219, 1618), (O.F. Muller, 1786) Fromentel-Kent (ref. ID; 1248, 1557, 1620, 1629, 2245, 2563) or (O.F. Muller, 1786) Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 7653), Kent, 1881 (ref. ID; 4610) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 191, 3689)

Descriptions

Stalkless, vase-shaped lorica equipped with valve-like apparatus which close the anterior part of the case obliquely like a trap-door when the cell contracts; body attached to the base of the case by a very short stalk; body elongated, peristomial area extends outwards; pellicle annulated; macronucleus band-like, extending longitudinally nearly the entire length of the cell; contractile vacuole near to the buccal cavity; cytoplasm hyaline, with or without zoochlorellae; the lorica usually contains 2 individuals. (ref. ID; 1219)
In salt and fresh water. (ref. ID; 1618)
Cytokinesis occurs in an oral-aboral plane parallel to the small diameter of the lorica, whose section is elliptical. Furthermore, the cytokinesis plane is always parallel to the axis of the filamentous alga to which the lorica is fixed. Therefore, the ciliate is generally viewed in profile. To permit a frontal view of the ciliate, the alga has been removed either mechanically or by a brief pronase treatment. In the latter, the cell was sometimes also detached from its lorica. Cytokinesis begins simultaneously at both ends of the peritrich as two longitudinal median fissures called oral and aboral respectively. The fissures lengthen and cytokinesis is completed in 35-40 min, about 55-60 min after the beginning of division. Reconstructions based upon ultrathin sections demonstrate that each fissure occurs by simultaneous formation of two furrows on opposite sides of the cell. Cytokinesis is incomplete at the end of the binary fission since both daughter cells -the trophozoites- remain joined to each other by a longitudinal median strip, the intercellular bridge, which is not visible by light microscopy. Because of that bridge, the trophozoites that were removed from their lorica seem to be "glued" to each other all along their length. During cytokinesis of a detached animal, a very short segment of the bridge is sometimes visible at the aboral end, which is the narrowest part of the cell. Then the bridge breaks down just before the transformation of one trophozoite into a migrant, about 30 hr after division. Therefore, the term cytokinesis in the present paper refers to the cell constriction during binary fission and does not include the later breakdown of the bridge. (ref. ID; 4152)
The study of stomatogenesis. (ref. ID; 7573)

Measurements

Length of lorica 130-300 um. (ref. ID; 1219)
Lorica 127-170 high (Kent); 160-200 um high (Kahl). (ref. ID; 1618)