Ref ID : 1033
J. Norman Grim; The kinetid structures of the choreotrichous ciliate Strobilidium velox and an assessment of its evolutionary lineage. J.Protozool. 34(2):117-123, 1987
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The ciliary (kinetid) structures of the ciliate Strobilidium velox have been examined with scanning and transmission electron mycroscopes. Somatic kineties consist of a linear row of kinetosomes (monokinetids) and short cilia lying partially beneath a thin fold of cytoplasm. The only fibrillar kinetid structure extending from the kinetosomes is a transverse ribbon of microtubules. The paroral membrane is a single-file polykinetid possessing a possible transverse ribbon of microtubules and a nematodesma. The oral polykinetids or membranelles are complex, with microtubules extending from both anterior and posterior rows of cilia. While the kinetid structures do not satisfy the criteria for the order Choreotrichida, they are similar to the tintinnids in several other relevant ways. Strobilidium velox is proposed to be an unusual ciliate that is an exception to the concept that somatic kinetids are conservative and reliable phylogenetic indicator structures.