Tachyblaston ephelotensis Martin, 1909

Chatterjee, Tapas, Dovgal, Igor & Sautya, Sabyasachi, 2023, New find of Dactylophrya-stage of parasitic suctorian of genus Tachyblaston Martin, 1909 (Ciliophora, Suctorea) with comments on genus taxonomy, Zootaxa 5389 (2), pp. 266-274 : 272

Tachyblaston ephelotensis Martin, 1909

= Dactylophrya roscovita Collin, 1909

Diagnosis (after Martin 1909 and Grell 1950): The parasitic stage (trophont) constitutes the rounded cell ( Fig. 6A ) with single, short, wide, enlarged tentacle, which usually points toward the basal part of the host cell. Macronucleus rounded, centrally located. The ciliary swarmer produced by exogemmy ( Fig. 6B ) is elongated-oval, with a rounded macronucleus somewhat displaced to one of the poles of the swarmer body ( Fig. 6C ). There is a ciliary field on the right anterior area of the ventral surface of the cell.

Dimensions (in µm): Length of body 40 (after Martin 1909); 50 (after Grell 1950); body width 30 (after Martin 1909); 45 (after Grell 1950). Tentacle width up to 12 ( Grell 1950). Swarmer dimensions: Body length 40 (after Martin 1909); about 45 (after Grell 1950), body width 18 (after Martin 1909); about 22 (after Grell 1950). Dimensions of the macronucleus about 8–10×12–15 (after Grell 1950).

The Dactylophtya -stage have unflattened cell body, covered by thin lorica attached to the substrate by solid slightly curved stalk, enlarged in field of contact with lorica ( Fig. 6D ). Single elongate macronucleus positioned in the center of body. This stage forming up to 16 bottle-like, unciliary swarmers, armored with single short tentacle. Reproduction by sequential semi-circumvaginative budding ( Dovgal 2002).

Dimensions (in µm): Lorica length 30–43 (after Martin 1909); 35–40 (after Grell 1950); lorica width 30 (after Martin 1909); 25–28 (after Grell 1950); stalk length 20–30 (after Martin 1909); 25–35; stalk diameter 4–5 (after Grell 1950).

Dactylozoite dimensions: Body length 18–20; body width 6–8; tentacle width about 3 ( Grell 1950).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Different stages of Tachyblaston ephelotensis life cycle (after Grell 1950). A—trophont; B—budding trophonts of T. ephelotensis in Ephelota gemmipara; C—ciliary swarmer of T. ephelotensis (a—lateral view; b—ventral view; Wf—ciliary field; Ma—macronucleus). D—Dactylophrya-stage producing dactylozoites.