New Contribution to the Morphology and Taxonomy of Four Marine ...

152 W. Song et al.
Table 2. Morphometric data for two populations of Pseudokeronopsis flavicans. All data are based on protargol impregnated specimens.
Measurements in µm
Character Min Max Mean SD SE CV n
Length of body 180 220 204.7 14.84 6.06 7.3 9
193 238 209.1 21.16 7.99 8.1 14
Width of body 40 48 44.0 2.83 1.15 6.4 9
56 65 60.1 4.67 1.77 6.2 14
Length of buccal field 60 67 64.7 4.50 1.84 7.0 9
55 72 65.1 7.35 2.78 9.0 14
Number of membranelles 46 54 51.3 2.73 1.12 5.3 9
50 66 56.1 5.49 2.08 9.8 7
Number of cirral pairs in bicorona* 5 7 - - - - 5
6 9 7.4 0.97 0.31 13.1 10
Number of buccal cirri 1 1 1 0 0 0 12
1 2 1.1 0.33 0.10 30.9 9
Number of frontoterminal cirri 2 2 2 0 0 0 9
2 2 2 0 0 0 11
Number of transverse cirri 3 5 4.1 0.52 0.15 12.6 10
3 6 3.6 0.97 0.32 26.8 9
Number of pairs of cirri in midventral rows 25 32 28.3 2.35 0.78 8.3 7
29 40 33.4 4.39 1.46 13.1 9
Number of cirri in left marginal row 40 51 - - - - 5
50 57 52.4 3.05 1.36 5.8 8
Number of cirri in right marginal row 44 57 - - - - 5
56 65 60.2 3.16 1.29 5.3 8
Number of macronuclei - - - - - - -
72 97 - - - - 2
Number of dorsal kineties 4 5 4.1 0.32 0.10 7.7 10
4 5 4.1 0.36 0.10 8.8 14
*Anteriormost frontal cirri which are positioned in two widely spaced rows forming the bicorona
Qingdao population, we here provide a detailed description
and a new diagnosis.
Improved diagnosis. Marine Pseudokeronopsis,
body slender, ribbon-shape with narrow caudal portion,
200-300 x 40-55 µm in vivo and yellow in colour.
Ciliature comprising bicorona of 5-9 pairs of frontal cirri;
one buccal, 2 frontoterminal and 3-6 transverse cirri; two
midventral rows consisting of about 25-40 pairs of cirri
which terminate caudally about 15 µm above the inconspicuous
transverse cirri; 46-66 adoral membranelles;
40-57 (mean 52) left and 44-65 (mean 60) right marginal
cirri; 4-5 dorsal kineties. Numerous macronuclear segments.
One contractile vacuole anterior 2/5 of body.
Bright yellow-brownish cortical granules grouped around
cilia and cirri; colourless blood-cell-shaped granules lying
just beneath pellicle and distributed throughout whole
cell.
Morphological description. Cells flexible, slightly
contractile and often somewhat distorted in middle portion,
i.e. folded or twisted, when crawling or gliding on
bottom of Petri dish (Fig. 17); body dorsoventrally
flattened about 1:2. Body shape distinctly slender with
posterior portion often distinctly narrowed; ratio of cell
length to width about 5-6:1 (Figs 9, 16, 17); buccal field
narrow and inconspicuous, about 1/4 - 1/5 of body
length. Cell margins generally parallel but sometimes
swollen in middle portion (Figs 9, 16). Dorsal side slightly
uneven and irregularly bulged (Fig. 17).
Pellicle soft and thin. “Cortical granules” consisting of
two types: type 1, which are spindle-shape, about 1-
1.5 µm long, bright yellow-brownish and regularly grouped
in dense rosette-pattern around both cirri (ventrally) and
cilia (dorsally). These granules are thus distributed in
belts or lines along cirral rows and dorsal kineties,
rendering whole cell bright yellow (Figs 11, 12, 16). This
species, however, also appears to contain some “dissolved
pigments” because, in addition to these belts of
pigment-like granules, other regions are also yellowish