Morphology of a novel ciliate, Oxytricha chongqingica sp. nov. (Ciliophora, Hypotrichia)

By

Han, Haifeng
Xue, Xiaojin
Zhang, Zhisheng
Shao, Chen

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-7-25

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1247

Pages

137--149

Subjects

new species , Oxytrichidae , SSU rDNA , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1247.155543

 

Abstract

A novel hypotrichous ciliate, Oxytricha chongqingicasp. nov., was identified in Chongqing, southwestern China. This species is distinguishable from congeners by various qualitative and quantitative characteristics, such as body size and shape, pattern of endoral and paroral, number of macronuclear nodules, presence and arrangement of cortical granules, as well as ventral and dorsal ciliature. Phylogenetic analyses based on small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences indicate that Oxytricha chongqingicasp. nov. forms a cluster with O. nauplia, Allotrichides antarcticus, O. paragranulifera, O. quadricirrata, Paroxytricha longigranulosa, and P. ottowi, albeit with weak or moderate nodal support (82 ML and 0.87 BI).