Morphology and phylogeny of a new species, Uroleptus (Caudiholosticha)antarctica n. sp. (Ciliophora, Hypotricha) from Greenwich Island in Antarctica

Abstract

This paper describes the morphological features based on standard methods and estimates their phylogenetic position using small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequences of a Uroleptus (Caudiholosticha) antarctica n. sp. population investigated from moss of the Greenwich Island, Antarctica. The morphology of Uroleptus (Caudiholosticha) antarctica n. sp. is characterized as follows: 213.0？238.0×67.5？74.5 μm size in vivo; contractile vacuole located slightly above left of mid-body; cortical granules lacking; three frontal and two frontoterminal cirri; five to six transverse cirri; one pretransverse cirri; one right and one left marginal rows; six to seven dorsal kineties; three caudal cirri.