Dileptus beersi Jones, 1956

Bharti, Daizy & Kumar, Santosh, 2019, Ten new records of Protozoan Ciliates (Protozoa: Ciliophora) from India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 119 (2), pp. 111-119 : 117

9. Dileptus beersi Jones, 1956 ( Figure 4A, B )

Diagnosis of the Indian population (Data based on 4 specimens): Size about 350 × 40 μm in protargol preparations; shape narrowly dileptid with distinct tail, proboscis about 1/3 of body length. Nuclear apparatus composed of more than 200 macronuclear nodules and several micronuclei. Two types of extrusomes attached to proboscis oral bulge: type I rod-shaped to slightly ovate, usually 7 × 0.7 μm; type II oblong, 3 × 0.5 μm long. On average 35 ciliary rows.

Material deposited: One slide including protargol-impregnated specimens have been deposited at the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India with the following accession number Pt. 4014/6 (7 specimens marked on the slide) .

Occurrence and ecology: Thus far, the species has been recorded from North Carolina (USA), Venezuela, and Savannah ( Vďačný & Foissner, 2012). The present study reports its presence from soil sample collected from the Flamingo Bird Sanctuary (19°05’46’’N 72°56’01’’E). The soil was collected from the butterfly park which had heavy tree vegetation and grass land. It feeds on flagellates and small ciliates .

Figures

Figure 4. Photomicrographs of protargol impregnated specimens. A, B. Dileptus beersi. Arrowheads point to the oral opening. C, D. Pseudomonilicaryon falciforme. Arrowhead points to the oral opening. E1, type 1 extrusomes; E2, type 2 extrusomes; MA, macronuclear nodules; MI, micronuclei. Scale bars 80 μm (A, D), 15 μm (B, C).