Phylogeny and taxonomy of five poorly known species of cyrtophorian ciliates (Protozoa: Ciliophora: Phyllopharyngea) from China Seas

The morphology and phylogeny of five rarely known species/subspecies, Coeloperix sinica sp. nov., Atopochilodon distichum Deroux, 1976, Chlamydodon rectus Ozaki & Yagiu, 1941, Odontochlamys alpestris biciliata Foissner et al., 2002, and Dysteria compressa (Gourret & Roeser, 1886) Kahl, 1931, collected from China seas were investigated with standard methods. Coeloperix sinica sp. nov. is characterized by possessing single separation in the cross-striated band, four preoral and 15 postoral kineties, and 14 or 15 nematodesmal rods. The diagnosis of A. distichum is improved. It can be recognized by two cytoplasmic protrusions, 14-16 somatic kineties, and 12 or 13 nematodesmal rods. The infraciliature of C. rectus and D. compressa is revealed for the first time. Chlamydodon rectus possesses 10-16 right, four postoral, and 15-19 left kineties; D. compressa has five right, two frontoventral, and three left frontal kineties. The small subunit rRNA gene tree shows that: (1) A. distichum is basal to the clade Chlamydonella + Chlamydonellopsis; (2) O. alpestris biciliata nests in Chilodonellidae and is most closely related to Chilodonella; (3) C. sinica and D. compressa cluster with their congeners, respectively.