Ciliates occur in the blowholes of marine mammals, but our understanding of their biology is poor. Consequently, we investigated an infestation of ciliates in an unhealthy, captive beluga whale that was exhibiting accelerated breathing, leukocytosis and expulsion of unusually large amounts of viscous sputum. This sputum contained ~104 ciliates mL-1 (when healthy, numbers were ten- to 100-fold lower). One known ciliate species, Planilamina ovata, is fully characterized, and a new species, Kyaroikeus paracetarius sp. nov., is here described. The new species is established based on its larger number of left kineties over its only congener. Sequences of small-subunit rDNA, large-subunit rDNA and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions of these two taxa were used in phylogenetic analyses, inferring that Kyaroikeus and Planilamina have close affinity with the free-living family Dysteriidae, contradicting their morphology-based assignment to the family Kyaroikeidae. We suggest that Kyaroikeidae be relegated to subfamily status. Finally, by comparing parasitic species with free-living taxa, we suggest how these ciliates have adapted to their unique environment and how they may have initially invaded the host. We provide essential data and concepts for the continued evaluation of ciliate-parasites in whale blowholes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.