Redescription of Antetintinnidium mucicola (Claparède and Lachmann, 1858) nov. gen., nov. comb. (Alveolata, Ciliophora, Tintinnina)

Abstract

Tintinnid ciliates have traditionally been described and classified exclusively based on their lorica features. Although information on the cell characters is urgently needed for a natural classification, more molecular than cytological data has been accumulated over recent years. Apparently, the tintinnids developed in the marine environment and entered freshwater several times independently. Typical freshwater tintinnids belong to the genera Tintinnidium and Membranicola. The species are comparatively well-known regarding their morphology and characterised by two unusual de novo originating ciliary rows, the ventral organelles. In contrast, the cell features in the marine/brackish Tintinnidium species, specifically their somatic ciliary patterns, are insufficiently known or not known at all. Therefore, the morphology of a common marine/brackish representative, Tintinnidium mucicola, is redescribed based on live observation and protargol-stained material. Furthermore, biogeographical and autecological data of the species are compiled from literature and own records. The phylogenetic relationships of T. mucicola are inferred and the diversity of the family Tintinnidiidae is assessed from 18S rDNA sequences. The study shows that T. mucicola is not only molecularly distinct, but also characterised by many plesiomorphic features, for instance, it does not possess a verifiable homologue to the ventral organelles. Hence, a new genus, Antetintinnidium nov. gen., is established for T. mucicola. The new insights into the diversity of Tintinnidiidae shed light on the early evolution of tintinnids and might provide clues on their adaptions to freshwater.