Morphological Investigations on Some Free Living Ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from China Sea with Description of a New Hypotrichous Genus, Hemigastrostyla nov. gen.

Large-scale phylogenomic analysis reveals the phylogenetic position of the problematic taxon Protocruzia and unravels the deep phylogenetic affinities of the ciliate lineages

“…Multiple analyses have since been employed using a limited number of genes but the exact phylogenetic position of Protocruzia remains unresolved; it has been considered a karyorelictid, heterotrich and spirotrich (Bernhard and Schlegel, 1998;De Puytorac, 1994;Grolière et al, 1980;Lynn, 1981Lynn, , 1991Lynn, 2008;Shin et al, 2000;Small and Lynn, 1981;Song and Wilbert, 1997). Some investigators have proposed that Protocruzia be given its own lineage status (Li et al, 2010).…”

“…Nevertheless, the monophyly of the class Spirotrichea has been challenged in several studies, notably those that include Protocruzia spp. While Protocruzia has been formally assigned to the Spirotrichea (Lynn, 2008), its phylogenetic position remains as one of the most ambiguous since it is rarely recovered with the Spirotrichea (Bernhard and Schlegel, 1998;Shin et al, 2000;Song and Wilbert, 1997). Some researchers have suggested that Protocruzia be assigned its own independent lineage status (Li et al, 2010).…”

Parabirojimia multinucleata spec. nov. and Anteholosticha scutellum (Cohn, 1866) Berger, 2003, marine ciliates (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida) from tropical waters in southern China, with notes on their small-subunit rRNA gene sequences

“…manca can be distinguished from A. scutellum in its body shape (fusiform vs elliptical), the arrangement of cortical granules (irregularly aligned in rows vs scattered randomly) and numbers of adoral membranelles, frontal cirri, frontoterminal cirri, midventral cirri, transverse cirri, left marginal cirri and right marginal cirri (Table 3; Fig. 4m-o) (Song & Wilbert, 1997b).…”

Description of a New Brackish Water Ciliate, Uronychia xinjiangensis n. sp. (Ciliophora, Euplotida) Based on Morphology, Morphogenesis and Molecular Phylogeny

“…36 pairs vs. ca. 15 or 30) (Song and Wilbert 1997;Song et al 2004;Shi and Song 1999). Both Uronychia transfuga and U. multicirrus are larger forms (150-280 or 120-200 µm) and possess beaded macronuclear nodules (Curds and Wu 1983;Song 1997Song , 1999Shi and Song 1999).…”

“…Although Song and Wilbert (1997) significantly enhanced our knowledge about Uronychia populations based on morphometric analyses, some morphological X. Shi et al 304 features at the species level are weak and easily overlooked.…”