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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Nassula

Nassula Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 2013)

Class Kinetofragminophora: Subclass Hypostomata: Order Nassulida: Suborder Nassulina (ref. ID; 2013)

[ref. ID; 2013]
Body shape ovoid, some species elongate. Body ciliature complete, sometimes with paired cilia, in many longitudinal kineties. There is always a frange of membranelles beneath, but extending only to the left of, the oral aperture. The number of membranelles in the frange varies but there are at least 3 and usually more. The anterior part of the kinety immediately to the right of the oral aperture may be modified to become a highly vibratile double row of cilia forming the paroral ciliature. The frange of membranelles always interrupts the left kineties so that they continue forwards past the frange to the suture line. This feature distinguishes it from the genera Furgasonia and Enigmostoma where the membranelles occur in the suture line area and thus do not interrupt the kineties. The cytopharynx is supported by a basket of trichites. There is a single contractile vacuole situated in the middle of the body. Macronucleus with adjacent micronucleus centrally positioned.
Quote; Colin R. Curds "British and other freshwater ciliated protozoa Part I Ciliophora: Kinetofragminophora" Cambridge University Press, 1982 (ref. ID; 2013)
  1. Nassula ambigua Stein, 1854 (ref. ID; 1622)
  2. Nassula ambigua var. tumida Maskell
    See; Nassula tumida Maskell, 1887 (ref. ID; 1622)
  3. Nassula aurea Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 1308, 1622, 2245, 4611, 4613, 7694) reported year? (ref. ID; 1618, 4678) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 7538)
    See; Obertrumia aurea (ref. ID; 4611, 4613)
  4. Nassula brunnea Fabre-Domergue, 1885 (ref. ID; 1622)
  5. Nassula carpathica Lepsi, 1927 (ref. ID; 1622)
  6. Nassula citrea Kahl, 1930 (ref. ID; 7618, 7694) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 191, 1622)
  7. Nassula derouxi Njine, 1979 (ref. ID; 7538 original paper)
  8. Nassula elegans Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 1622, 2245, 4611) reported year? (ref. ID; 3690)
    See; Nassulopsis elegans (ref. ID; 4611)
    Syn; Nassula versicolor Andre, 1916 (ref. ID; 1622)
  9. Nassula exigua Kahl, 1931 (ref. ID; 3593) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 1622)
  10. Nassula flava Claparede & Lachmann, 1858 (ref. ID; 1622)
  11. Nassula georgiana
    See; Obertrumia georgiana (ref. ID; 7340)
  12. Nassula graciis Claparede & Lachmann (ref. ID; 3342)
  13. Nassula gracilis Kahl (ref. ID; 1219, 1335, 1622)
    Syn; Nassula elegans Blochmann-Roux (ref. ID; 1622)
  14. Nassula gutturata Gajevskaja, 1927 (ref. ID; 1622)
  15. Nassula hesperidea Entz, 1884 (ref. ID; 1622)
  16. Nassula heterovesiculata Gelei, 1939
    See; Synhymenia heterovesiculata
  17. Nassula labiata Kahl, 1933 (ref. ID; 1620)
  18. Nassula longinassa Foissner (ref. ID; 3698)
  19. Nassula magna Smith, 1897 (ref. ID; 1622)
  20. Nassula microstoma Calkins, 1903(?) or Cohn, 1866
    See; Placus socialis (ref. ID; 1619, 1622, 3540)
  21. Nassula minima Minkewitsch (ref. ID; 3698)
  22. Nassula muscicola (ref. ID; 1622)
  23. Nassula notata (O.F. Muller) Hamburger & V. Buddbr., 1911 (ref. ID; 1622)
    Syn; Nassula microstoma Cohn, 1866 (ref. ID; 1622); Nassula microstoma Entz, 1884 (ref. ID; 1622)
  24. Nassula ornata Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 1622, 1629, 3115, 4488, 4611, 7694) reported year? (ref. ID; 3690, 3698) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 3292, 7538)
  25. Nassula ougandae Dragesco, 1972
    See; Enigmostoma ougandae
  26. Nassula picta Greeff, 1888 (ref. ID; 1622, 1629, 3593, 4488, 4611) reported year? (ref. ID; 3698)
  27. Nassula pratensis (ref. ID; 7538)
  28. Nassula pusilla (ref. ID; 1622)
  29. Nassula rotunda Gelei (ref. ID; 3698)
  30. Nassula theresae Fabre-Domergue, 1931 (ref. ID; 1622)
  31. Nassula tumida Maskell, 1887 (ref. ID; 1622, 7563)
    Syn; Nassula ambigua var. tumida Maskell (ref. ID; 1622)
  32. Nassula versicolor Andre, 1916
    See; Nassula elegans (ref. ID; 1622)

Nassula aurea Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 1308, 1622, 2245, 4611, 4613, 7694) reported year? (ref. ID; 1618, 4678) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 7538)

See

Obertrumia aurea (ref. ID; 4611, 4613)

Descriptions

Fresh and brackish water. (ref. ID; 1618)
The occurrence of alveolocysts in the somatic cortex. (ref. ID; 7694)

Measurements

200-250 um long. (ref. ID; 1618)

Nassula citrea Kahl, 1930 (ref. ID; 7618, 7694) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 191, 1622)

Descriptions

  • Morphology of the trophic stage: N. citrea is slightly flattened dorsoventrally and measures 80-120 um in length and 40-50 um in width. Starved animals reveal an asymmetrical outline with a cortex right side and a concave left side. In the anterior left part the cell there is a yellow spot which is not clearly seen in recently fed cells. Well fed cells are of ovoid shape. The holotrichous body ciliature consists of about 55 kineties with monokinetids as subunits. In N. citrea like in the undetermined Nassula studied by Tucker (1971) a field of irregularly arranged ciliated kinetosomes is seen between the cytostome and the contractile vacuole pore. During stomatogenesis this part of the cortex serves as the anlage for the paroral membrane of the future opisthe. The first somatic kinety on the right of the contractile vacuole pore is defined as kinety 1. It extends from the posterior end of the paroral membrane beyond the contractile vacuole pore to the cytoproct. In between the somatic kineties some spindle-shaped trichocysts are dispersed. The cytostome of N. citrea is located in the anterior quarter of the ventral cortex slightly on the right of the ventral mid-line. The club-shaped cytopharyngeal basket which consist of 34-38 rods (nematodesmata) is about 35 um long with a maximum width of 12 um. The right half of the cytostome with the anterior tip of a resting basket is covered by a lid-like fold of the pellicle. The buccal ciliature of N. citrea consists of a paroral membrane and 5-6 (rarely 4 or 7) adoral membranelles. The kinetosomes of the paroral membrane are arranged irregularly and can hardly be distinguished from the somatic kineties. The adoral membranelles form an adoral streak of membranelles ('adoraler Wimperstreifen" Stein 1859; 'frange hypostomienne' Faure-Fremiet 1967) which extends from the posterior edge of the oral opening the left along the ventral surface of the cell. In general the streak of membranelles is limited to the ventral cortex and ends near the yellow pigment-spot but sometimes it just reaches the dorsal side of the cell. The streak of membranelles cuts most of the kineties on the ventral left part of the cell into 2 segments, a shorter anterior one and a longer posterior one. Each membranelles has 3 rows of kinetosomes. The number of kinetosomes within a row varies from membranelle to membranelle and from cell to cell in a wide range. The paroral membrane of N. citrea forms the right border of the buccal cavity and runs along the lid-like fold of the pellicle which covers half of the basket's tip. The paroral membrane consists of about 20 kinetosomes which lie much closer together than in the somatic kineties. Partly the kinetosomes of the paroral membrane seem to be arranged in pairs with their axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the paroral membrane. Sporadically such pairs are also found in the cortical region between the oral opening and the contractile vacuole pore which is located in the middle of the ventral surface of the cell between kinety 1 and n. About 15 um behind the contractile vacuole pore begins the cytoproct which nearly reaches the posterior pole of the cell. (ref. ID; 7618)
  • Morphogenesis: The cortical morphogenesis of N. citrea can be subdivided in 5 stages. (ref. ID; 7618) The occurrence of alveolocysts in the somatic cortex. (ref. ID; 7694)

    Nassula graciis Claparede & Lachmann (ref. ID; 3342)

    Measurements

    135-218x55-110 um. (ref. ID; 3342)

    Nassula ornata Ehrenberg, 1833 (ref. ID; 1622, 1629, 3115, 4488, 4611, 7694) reported year? (ref. ID; 3690, 3698) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 3292, 7538)

    Descriptions

    The occurrence of alveolocysts in the somatic cortex. (ref. ID; 7694)

    Nassula tumida Maskell, 1887 (ref. ID; 1622, 7563)

    Synonym

    Nassula ambigua var. tumida Maskell (ref. ID; 1622)

    Descriptions

    The ultrastructural study. (ref. ID; 7563)