Loxophyllum apochlorelligerum Zhang & Zhao & Chi & Warren & Pan & Song 2022, SP. NOV.
Creators: name: Zhang, Gongaote
name: Zhao, Yan
name: Chi, Yong
name: Warren, Alan
name: Pan, Hongbo
name: Song, Weibo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Chromista
Ciliophora
Gymnostomatea
Pleurostomatida
Loxophyllidae
Loxophyllum
Loxophyllum apochlorelligerum

description: LOXOPHYLLUM APOCHLORELLIGERUM SP. NOV.
(FIGS 4, 5; TABLE 1)
Zoobank registration: urn: lsid: zoobank. org:act: 32A46325-B72C-4B1D-A5AA-44145403DBB3
aPerioral kinety 2 or perioral kineties 2–3 were included.
bPerioral kinety 1 and dorsal brush kinety were included.
cOut of 25 individuals of Loxophyllum apochlorelligerum sp. nov. only three had a single macronuclear nodule; and out of 17 individuals of Paralitonotus foissneri sp. nov. only one had a single macronuclear nodule.
Abbreviations: CV, coefficient of variation (as a percentage); mean, arithmetic mean; N, number of specimens; SD, standard deviation.
Diagnosis: Body lanceolate, about 170 – 280 µm × 35–50 µm in vivo; seven to nine left and 12–14 right somatic kineties; extrusomes clavate, distributed along entire cell margin; three to five inconspicuous dorsal warts located at anterior one-third of body; single subterminal contractile vacuole; two ovoidal macronuclear nodules and one micronucleus; freshwater habitat.
Type material: A silver proteinate slide with the holotype specimen circled by ink and another two silver proteinate slides with paratype specimens deposited in the Laboratory of Protozoa, Ocean University of China, with registration numbers ZGAT2020051801-1 (holotype), ZGAT2020051801-2 and ZGAT2020051801-3.
Type locality and ecological features: A boggy area in Weishan Lake (34°45′59.56″N, 117°09′22.65″E), Ji’ning, China. Water temperature 21 °C and pH 8.30.
Etymology: Composite of the Greek adjective αΠό- (from) and the species-group name chlorelligerum (‘bearing chlorellae’, a green alga), indicating a ciliate similar to Loxophyllum chlorelligerum Vuxanovici, 1959.
SSU rDNA sequence: The SSU rDNA sequence of Lo. apochlorelligerum sp. nov. has been deposited in the GenBank database, with length 1531 bp, G+C content 42.26% and accession number MW414675. The SSU rDNA gene sequence similarity between Lo. apochlorelligerum sp. nov. and its congeners ranges from 0.958 to 0.978 (Fig. 8).
Description: Body lanceolate, slightly contractile, with a beak-like anterior end and a pointed posterior end. Cell size about 170–280 µm × 35–50 µm in vivo when fully extended. Neck region inconspicuous, occupying 25% of cell length, often with several inconspicuous dorsal warts (Fig. 4A, arrows). Cell typically with a thin, well-defined hyaline fringe (Fig. 5A, D, G). Right side densely ciliated; left side somewhat vaulted and sparsely ciliated. Two macronuclear nodules, elliptical in outline, about 15–23 µm × 10–15 µm in vivo, centrally located (Figs 4D, E, H, 5B, E, I; Table 1). Micronucleus positioned between macronuclear nodules (Figs 4H, 5I). Contractile vacuole subterminally located (Figs 4A, D, F, 5A, B, G), ~15–20 µm in diameter, pulsating about every 30 s. Extrusomes clavate, straight or slightly curved, ~5–7 µm long, distributed along entire cell margin and often clustered in anterior portion of dorsal margin to form three to fie warts (Figs 4A, D, J, 5C, F). Cortical granules tiny (<0.3 µm) and densely distributed between ciliary rows (Figs 4I, 5H). Cytoplasm colourless or greyish, with numerous densely packed food vacuoles (~4–7 µm in diameter) that render main body region opaque (Figs 4A, F, 5A, B, D, G). Locomotion typically by slowly gliding on substrate, sometimes by swimming while rotating about longitudinal body axis.
Ciliary pattern as shown in Figure 4B, C, G. There are 12–14 right somatic kineties (including PK2 and PK3), each consisting of monokinetids and terminating anteriorly along PK3 (Figs 4C, 5J; Table 1). Left side sparsely ciliated, with seven to nine (average eight) left somatic kineties (including PK1; Figs 4B, 5L, M; Table 1). Dorsal brush kinety consisting of regularly spaced dikinetids in anterior half of cell length and continuing posteriorly as monokinetids (Fig. 4B, G).
Three perioral kineties around oral slit. Perioral kinety 1 (PK1) consisting of densely spaced dikinetids in anterior half and continuing posteriorly as a row of monokinetids (Fig. 4B, G). Perioral kinety 2 (PK2) consisting of densely spaced dikinetids in anterior half and continuing posteriorly as a row of monokinetids (Fig. 4C, G). Perioral kinety 3 (PK3) composed of densely spaced monokinetids (Fig. 4C, G).
description: Published as part of Zhang, Gongaote, Zhao, Yan, Chi, Yong, Warren, Alan, Pan, Hongbo & Song, Weibo, 2022, Updating the phylogeny and taxonomy of pleurostomatid ciliates (Protista: Ciliophora) with establishment of a new family, a new genus and two new species, pp. 105-123 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 196 (1) on pages 110-112, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac028, http://zenodo.org/record/7035078