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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 7614

M. Soledad Ruiz and Ramon Anadon; The Oral Structures of the Peritrich Ciliate Opercularia coarctata (Clap. & Lachm., 1858): A light microscope and Ultrastructural Study. Protistologica XXII(3):291-299, 1986

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The oral structures of Opercularia coarctata were studied both with the Fernandez-Galiano silver impregnation method and ultrastructurally. In the peristomial infraciliature, postciliary microtubules were found on the barren kinetosomes of the stichodyade and also in the right row of kinetosomes of the polykinety. Their fibrillary systems were analyzed, lacking Opercularia the "J fibre" or "lamina densa" that was considered as a feature of Peritrichs. A peculiar fold was found over the barren kinetosomes of the stichodyade. In some specimens an epistomial membrane was demonstrated near the polykinety both with light and electron microscopy. The germinal kinety associates to the stichodyade along the transition of the peristome to the infundibulum. In the later, three adoral infundibular organelles (P-1, P-2 and P-3) were present: kinetosomal rows of P-1 can remifie at their end and P-3 occupies a characteristics place at the bottom of the infundibulum. Fibrially links were found between the infundibular ribs and a myoneme that ends at the cytostome. The cytopharynx was also described.