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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Albertia

Albertia Dujardin, 1838 (ref. ID; 2902)

Order Ploimida: Family Dicranophoridae (ref. ID; 7097)

ref. ID; 1663

Toes minute and fused, or lacking. Corona oblique. Eyespots lacking. Rostrum minute. Retrocerebral sac absent. Most or all species are ecto- or endoparasites of oligochaetes. (ref. ID; 1663)

ref. ID; 1923

With 1 short conical toe arising from rudimentary foot. Mostly parasitic in or on Oligochaetes. A. typhylina is found free. (ref. ID; 1923)
  1. Albertia aciliata Radkewitsch, 1870
    See; Balatro aciliatus (ref. ID; 2019)
  2. Albertia anguiformis (Issel, 1904)
    See; Balatro anguiformis (ref. ID; 2019)
  3. Albertia bernardi Hlava, 1904 (ref. ID; 1345, 2902) or 1905 (ref. ID; 2550)
    See; Albertia naidis (ref. ID; 2019)
  4. Albertia caudata Manfredi, 1927 (ref. ID; 2550, 2902)
    See; Albertia naidis (ref. ID; 2019)
  5. Albertia crystalina Schultze, 1851 (ref. ID; 2550)
  6. Albertia crystallina Schultze, 1851 (ref. ID; 1345, 2019, 2902)
  7. Albertia intrusor Gosse, 1886 (ref. ID; 1345, 2902, 3688)
    See; Albertia naidis (ref. ID; 2019)
    Syn; Albertia vermiculus Gosse, 1856 (ref. ID; 1345, 3688)
  8. Albertia naidis Bonsfield, 1886 (ref. ID; 1345, 2019, 2266, 2550, 2780, 3688) or Bousfield, 1886 (ref. ID; 2702, 2902)
    Syn; Albertia bernardi Hlava, 1904 (ref. ID; 2019); Albertia caudata Manfredi, 1927 (ref. ID; 2019); Albertia intrusor Gosse, 1886 (ref. ID; 2019); Albertia soyeri Coineau & Kunst, 1964 (ref. ID; 2019)
  9. Albertia ovagranulata Valovaya, 1991 (ref. ID; 2019, 7907 original paper)
  10. Albertia reicheltae Koste, 1970 (ref. ID; 2019)
  11. Albertia reichelti Koste, 1970 (ref. ID; 2902 original paper)
  12. Albertia soyeri Coineau & Kunst, 1964 (ref. ID; 2550 original paper, 2902) reported year? (ref. ID; 7907)
    See; Albertia naidis (ref. ID; 2019)
  13. Albertia typhlina Harring & Myers, 1928 (ref. ID; 1345, 2019, 2550, 2902) reported year? (ref. ID; 7907)
  14. Albertia typhylina Harring & Myers, 1922 (ref. ID; 1923)
  15. Albertia vermiculus Dujardin, 1838 (ref. ID; 1345, 2550, 3092) or 1938 (ref. ID; 2019) reported year? (ref. ID; 3688)
    Syn; Albertia vermicularis after Rees (1960) (ref. ID; 2019); Albertia vermisculus after Koste (1978) (ref. ID; 2019)
  16. Albertia vermiculus Gosse, 1856
    See; Albertia intrusor (ref. ID; 1345, 3688)
  17. Albertia vermisculus Dujardin, 1838 (ref. ID; 2902)
  18. Albertia voroncovi Zenkevie, 1922 (ref. ID; 2902)
  19. Albertia voronkonvi Zenkevitch, 1922 (ref. ID; 2550)
  20. Albertia woronkowi Zenkewitsch, 1922 (ref. ID; 2019) reported year? (ref. ID; 7907)

Albertia ovagranulata Valovaya, 1991 (ref. ID; 2019, 7907 original paper)

Differential diagnosis

The described rotifers are closest to A. woronkowi Zenkewitsch; A. soyeri Coineau & Kunst; A. typhlina Harring & Myers, and at the same time differ from them in a number of characters (table). In the intestine of E. albidus along with the sexually mature A. ovagranulata sp. n., juvenile specimens were found differing significantly. (ref. ID; 7907)

Descriptions

Body long, vermicular, narrowing somewhat anteriorly and posteriorly, uniform elsewhere. Divided into a head region, neck region, trunk and foot. Length: body 170-420, head 14.0-25.2, neck 8.4-11.2, foot 22.4-58.8. Body width: maximum 22.4-64.4; at level of cloacal slit 22.4-42.2. The internal organs, especially the gonads, have a brown pigmentation which gives the entire rotifer body a corresponding cast. Cuticle is thin, transparent, under a light microscope appears smooth, under SEM the coasrely plicate structure of the cuticle surface is seen; the size of the folds and distance between them increase from head to foot. Head dorsally bears a rather large, digitiform, mobile rostrum (8.4-11.2 in length), capable of bending in strongly on the ventral side. Corona in the form of a half circle tapered ventrally and expanded laterally, does not enclose the central area of the head. Its cilia are of the same length and arranged in rows. The apical surface of the head laterally appears slightly truncated to the ventral side. When the corona is completely extended from the central part of the head, an optically transparent vesicle begins to protrude, which in SEM appears as a tubercle with plicate walls and apical opening (most likely a mouth). The head on the whole is slightly bent to the ventral side of the body. Beyond the head is the neck region which is a rather broad mobile fold. Beyond the cervical fold, the trunk uniformly expands without forming particular protuberances on any part of the body; trunk with undulations that are markedly visible ventrally. At the boundary between trunk and foot is a rather wide cloacal slit. The foot is conical, has a slight dorsal protuberance beginning immediately beyond the cloacal slit. The distal part of the foot is slightly bent ventrally and terminates in a small (3.5-5.6) papilliform toe from the apex of which a movable spur extends (2.8-4.6). The pedal glands are formed from four cells of equal size. The ducts of the two dorsal cells fuse and open through a common pore at the base of the toe on the dorsal side of the foot. The ducts of the two ventral cells also fuse forming a common duct which opens at the base of the spur or in its sheath. The retrocerebral organ is situated on the dorsal part of the body and consists of a sac and pair of lateral subcerebral glands. The rounded posterior edge of the retrocerebral sac extends right up to the beginning of the stomach, in the region of the mastax splits and bends. Above the pharynx, two powerful grandular ducts run upward and open at the base of the rostrum on each side. The subcerebral glands lie directly above the mastax; we did not observe ducts on these glands. Of the body musculature, only the foot muscles are distinctly identified; they consist of four pairs of longitudinal bands. Most visible are two ventral ribbonlike muscles which originate at the apex of the toe and are attached to the body wall in the region of the cloaca. A pair of dorsolateral bands originates at the base of the toe dorsally and a pair of ventrolateral muscles above the toe; these pairs crisscross. In addition, at the apex of the toe, two narrow bands originate which diverge laterally and are attached in the lower quarter of the body. In the center between the ribbonlike bands is the caudal ganglion. The digestive system begins with a very narrow, rather long pharyngeal tube which lead into a saclike pharynx. Ventrally in the pharynx, there is a single salivary gland. Dorsolaterally on each side of the pharynx, there is an additional smaller gland. The walls of the pharynx are formed from large cells the number of which could not be determined. Mastax forcipate: manubria (19.7) are long, slender, arched near the middle at approximately 150 degrees, connected by slightly expanded distal ends; unci (5.1) needlelike, slightly arched; rami (9.4) wide, beaklike, connected to the unci at the middle of the latter by their own pointed ends; the inner margin of the rami is smooth. Internally, the rami have two optically transparent parts: an upper large beaklike part and lower smaller tear-shaped one. The fulcrum (6.8) is slender, rodlike. Laterally, the mastax appears smooth: all its parts are rodlike and only the rami expand uniformly toward their base. From the upper part of the pharynx, the esophagus diverges dorsally; in the proximal part of the esophagus is an expansion inside of which there sometimes are sclerotized crosspieces. The esophagus then narrows and passes into the stomach. No ciliated epithelium was observed in the esophagus. At the junction of the esophagus and stomach, the latter has a dorsal pit into which the retrocerebral sac fits. At this place, but ventrally are two small cells with granular contents; their function is not clear. Two large syncytical gastric glands (each containing six large nuclei) are situated laterally to the stomach and shifted ventrally. The glands pass into the stomach in its upper part through a short duct. The stomach is long, tubelike, the walls are formed by large cells without cilia. Inside these cells and in the stomach cavity, there are numerous rounded inclusions containing microflora, most likely of a fungal nature (according to Ye.A. Kuznetsov, Department of Mycology and Algology, MGU). These inclusions may easily exit the cells to the lumen. Beyond the stomach is a short narrow intestine. The intestine opens to the cloaca which is a small muscular regin which also receives the duct of the excretory bladder and oviduct. The cloaca is connected to the outside by a long canal lined with cuticle and terminating in the cloacal slit. The excretory bladder is a strongly contractile structure, lined inside with epithelium lacking cilia; when mature eggs are present in the gonad, it is shifted to the foot. Cerebral ganglion is shaped like a butterfly, is situated dorsally to the pharyngeal tube above the mastax. Gonad is small, sac-shaped, situated ventrally; extends dorsally almost to the mastax, ventrally opens to the cloaca. Upper part of the gonad is flat, granular, brown, eight narrow transparent nuclei are visible in it. The mature egg lies at the end of the gonad, always solitary. Above, in a row, there are another 1-2 eggs with the membranes not formed. Eggs are large (67.2x78.4x28.0-33.6), ovoid, the cytoplasm is dark brown, granular, nucleus transparent, rounded, situated in the center. Egg membrane very thick, densely and uniformly covered with small rounded tubercles (hence the species name ovagranulata). (ref. ID; 7907)
  • Juvenile female: Length: body 154, head 11.2, neck 5.6, foot 22.4, spur 2.8; width: maximum body 22.4, at level of cloacal slit 11.2, mastax 19.6. Body conical, expands in anterior part and narrows smoothly in posterior. Body has distinctly pronounced telescopic segmentation. Besides the head, neck region, and foot, it consists of six segments. Apical surface of head somewhat truncated ventrally, bears same corona as adult. Rostrum mobile, when corona moves, is situated in vertical position. Foot conical without dorsal expansion, toe not pronounced, terminal spur not drawn in, always very visible. Mastax with definite structure and dimension. Intestine very short, stomach with microflora. Gastric glands large. Gonad small in form of compact oval structure, contains eight elongate transparent nuclei. (ref. ID; 7907)

    Biology

    Rotifers placed in seawater continue to live (at low temperature in a refrigerator (5-6 days; in this time, they deposit eggs which attach firmly to the bottom of the Petri dish. On days 7-10 after oviposition, juveniles form in the egg which remain viable more than a month (further observations not made). However, we did not observe hatching. The individuals inside the egg membranes have a formed corona and mastax of definite shape and dimension. The rotifers do not attach to the intestine of oligochaetes, but are localized as a rule near the intestinal wall. When placed in seawater, they move to the bottom layer by contracting the body (rather actively) and corona, which, it appears, plays a secondary role in locomotion. Juveniles, on the other hand, use only the corona to move; using it, they actively swim in the water colum in a spiral trajectory. Their body is also capable of contracting: the segments are drawn into one another. (ref. ID; 7907)

    Examined materials

    Holotype female (IC2-29), length: body 340.3, food 57.4, mastax 20.5; width: body 45.1, at level of cloaca 32.8, at leven of head 20.5. Paratypes females (IC2-30-34). Type series is deposited in the Moscow State University Zoological Museum. Host-oligochaete Encytraeus albidus Henle, 1837 (intestine). Locality found: Rugozero inlet, Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea, August 1988. (ref. ID; 7907)

    Albertia vermiculus Dujardin, 1838 (ref. ID; 1345, 2550, 3092) or 1938 (ref. ID; 2019) reported year? (ref. ID; 3688)

    Synonym

    Albertia vermicularis after Rees (1960) (ref. ID; 2019); Albertia vermisculus after Koste (1978) (ref. ID; 2019)

    Descriptions

    The parasite was found attached to the intestinal epithelium of the host approximately one-third of the length of the worm in front of the anus. Approximately twenty-five specimens were found distributed over about 1.5 in. of the interior of the intestine. They are firmly attached by their anterior ends and it was difficult to detach them without breaking. When detached from the intestinal mucosa of the host, the parasite is able to swim by means of its coronary cilia. Albertia vermicularis is elongated in form and is S-shaped in profile. There is no definite segmentation of the body. Anteriorly the corona appears as a hemispherical, simple, unlobed ciliary field, which is capable of being retracted. The cilia which are borne on the corona are uniform in distribution and length and were approximately 6 µm long in the animals examined. Dorsally, the corona bears two large palps which are unciliated. The mouth is situated ventrally on the posterior border of the coronary field and is followed almost immediately by the pear-shaped mastax which is of the virgate type. The mastax in the detached animals is constantly being pushed backwards and forwards between its normal more posterior, position and the mouth. During these movements the unci are observed to move apart while the mastax is in the region of the mouth, and to close together when the mastax is completely retracted. The trophi which are well differentiated and whose detailed form and structure are of the same general shape as those of Balatro anguiforms Issel (1904). Other prominent structures in the anterior region of the body are the large subcerebral organ and the retrocerebral sacs. These correspond in shape and position to the structures shown in Dujardin's text-figs.1 and 2, and referred to by that author as anterior and posterior gastric glands respectively. Rees (1960) have found no connexion between these organs and the gut, nor have Rees been able to locate any organ which corresponds with a gastric glands. The mastax is connected to the stomach by a short oesophagus which may or may not be detailed. The stomach extends over most of the remaining portion of the body and joins the intestine posteriorly; the intestine may or may not be dilated. The alimentary tract ends in the subterminal anus and connected with it in the posterior region there are four small rounded structures - the pedal glands. Distributed at regular intervals on either side of the posterior two-thirds of the body are four pairs of long tubular flame cells. Each flame cell is approximately 12 µm long and contains a single central flagellum of the same length. The three pair of anterior flame cells are directly connected with a long excretory canal. The connexion between the posterior pair of flame cells and the main excretory duct has not been observed. Posteriorly the excretory canal connects up with the intestine in the region of the anus. This excretory system, consisting of four pairs of flame cells, corresponds with the description given by Dujardin, i.e. his 'branchies interieures'. The germovitellarium is a large structure, the vitellarium containing five to eight large cells. The animal is viviparous, and large specimens often contain an embryo which may half fill the body of the parent individual. These embryos are often well developed, and details of their internal anatomy may be observed through the body wall of the parent. Posteriorly the body of the animal tapers towards a blunt point which bears three small lobes, all that remains of the foot which is so typical of various orders of free-living rotifers. The position of the specimens in the gut would indicate that this is the normal habitat for this organism. Dujardin did not mention the way in which Albertia vermicularis attaches itself to the host. Sectioned material has revealed however that there is an intimate connexion between the intestinal mucosa of the host and the parasite. The attachment constant of a small papilla of the intestinal mucosa which has been grasped and held by the trophi within the mastax. It seems from observations on the living animal that it must be the unci which are the trophic parts concerned with the holding, for it is these which are opened and closed during the movements of the mastax in the living animal. Details of the trophi cannot be distinguished in the sectioned material. This method of attachment is similar to that described by de Beauchamp (1904) for Drilophaga delagei which is ectoparasitic on Herpobdella octoculata, in which case the ectoderm of the host is grasped in the form of a small papilla by the trophi of the mastax. (ref. ID; 3092)

    Measurements

    The parasite varied in size between 180x35 µm and 310x40 µm; Dujardin's specimens were between 300 and 500 µm long. (ref. ID; 3092)