Ref ID : 3696
T.M. Fenchel; The Protozoan Fauna from the Gut of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas L. with a Description of Balantidium bacteriophorus sp. nov. Arch.Protistenk 123:22-26, 1980
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The protozoan gut fauna of the marine turtle Chelonia mydas from the Carribean Sea is described. It consists of a trichostome ciliate described here as Balantidium bacteriophorus sp. nov., the zooflagellates Octomitus sp. and an undentified trichomonad species as well as an identified amoeba. It has previously been shown that the herbivorous green turtle has a microbial gut flora capable of degrading the cellulose of the diet. The density of protozoans (up to 3x10E4 ciliates and >4x10E5 flagellates ml-1 in certain gut sections) is compared to that found in the rumen. Data on protozoan and bacterial numbers indicate that the protozoan fauna controls bacterial populations in the turtle gut.