Intranstylum Fauré-Fremiet, 1904

Wilbert, Norbert & Song, Weibo, 2005, New contributions to the marine benthic ciliates from the Antarctic area, including description of seven new species (Protozoa, Ciliophora), Journal of Natural History 39 (13), pp. 935-973 : 947

Genus Intranstylum Fauré-Fremiet, 1904

The genus Intranstylum is a relatively rarely reported taxon, most of its members having been only superficially described using classical methods ( Kahl 1935; Stiller 1971). As accepted by previous researchers, it is recognized by: (1) the colonial form of all congeners and (2) the extremely reduced or degenerated spasmoneme, which may connect all zooids but has no contractile function, thus the stalk is non-contractile.

In our recent publication (Song and Wilbert 2002), one Zoothamnium sp. with abnormal spasmoneme was described from the same biotope as in the current investigation. However, after rechecking the slides, we believe it was a misidentification and should be conspecific with the population found this time. With reference to the large size, body shape, appearance of colony, the habitat and the poorly developed myoneme system, this form should represent an undescribed Intranstylum .