Ref ID : 2130
Wilhelm Foissner; Updating the Trachelocercids (Ciliophora, Karyorelictea). IV. Transfer of Trachelocerca entzi Kahl, 1927 to the Gymnostomatea as a New Genus, Trachelotractus gen. n. (Helicoprorodontidae). Acta Protozoologica 36:63-74, 1997
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The morphology and infraciliature of Trahcelocerca entzi Kahl, 1927, a highly contractile mesopsammal ciliate found on the French Atlantic coast at Roscoff, were studied in live and protargol impregnated specimens. The somatic infraciliature consists of ciliated monokinetids, except for two specialized kineties which have ciliated dikinetids forming a brush near the anterior end and spiral around the cytopharyngeal opening. The head and neck kinetids bear distinct nematodesmata, i.e. are oralized somatic kinetids. The head has a crown-like peribuccal ridge containing long extrusomes (toxicysts). The oral apparatus is simple i.e. composed of a conical cytopharyngeal basket whose anterior end is surrounded by a few dikinetids possibly belonging to the anterior end of the spiral (brush) kineties. These characters largely match those known from Helicoprorodon. A glabrous stripe framed by a specialized bristle kinety, as found in trachelocercid and loxodid karyorelictids, is lacking. Thus, T. entzi is transferred from the karyorelictids to the gymnostomatids, viz. the family Helicoprorodontidae as a new genus, Trachelotractus gen. n., differing from Helicoprorodon by the possession of a typical gymnostomatous brush and the arrangement of the head extrusomes, which form a single circumpharyngeal bundle in Trachelotractus and a distinct spiral in Helicoprorodon.