Chilomastix cuspidata ( Larsen and Patterson 1990 ) Bernard et al. 1997

Lee, Won Je, 2015, Small Free-Living Heterotrophic Flagellates from Marine Sediments of Gippsland Basin, South-Eastern Australia, Acta Protozoologica 54 (1), pp. 53-76 : 54

Chilomastix cuspidata ( Larsen and Patterson 1990) Bernard et al. 1997 ( Figs 1a , 2a )

Observation: Cells are drop-shaped with a long posterior spike and are 20 to 32 µm long (including the spike) with a groove extending from the apex to the posterior end of the untapered part of the cell. The cells have 4 flagella inserting subapically and directed anterior laterally; one is shorter than the cell and the other three are about the cell length. The short flagellum beats and lies within the ventral groove. The nucleus is situated subapically. Food vacuoles occur throughout the cell. The cells move slowly by swimming while rotating and may attach to the substrate by the tip of the spike. Rarely observed.

Remarks: This species was transferred from Percolomonas to Chilomastix cuspidata by Bernard et al. (1997). It has been found at marine sites in Australia, Demark and Ireland ( Fenchel et al. 1995; Larsen and Patterson 1990; Weerakoon 1999; Bernard et al. 1997, 2000) and previously reported range of cell lengths is 14 to 33 µm. There are two free-living species in Chilomastix including this species, but the other species, Chilomastix undulata Skuja 1956 was described as having an undulating membrane and may be transferred to Trimastix ( Bernard et al. 2000) .

Figures

Fig. 1. a – Chilomastix cuspidata, b – Rhynchopus amitus, c – Spironema multiciliatum, d – Psammosa unguis nov. comb., e – Apusomonas sp., f – Rhynchobodo formica, g – Mantamonas plastica, h – Roombia truncata, i – Thaumatomastix setifera, j – Ancyromonas impluvium nov. spec., k – Helkesimastix faecicola, l – Kurnaimonas celerisnov. spec., m – Sinistermonas sinistrorsus nov. spec., n – Kiitoksia kaloista, o – Protist ‘1’. Scale bar: 10 µm for all figures.

Fig. 2. a – Chilomastix cuspidata, showing general appearance of cell; b – Goniomonas amphinema, showing general appearance of cell; c – G. pacifica, note two flagella diverging; d – Percolomonas similis, note ventral groove; e – Bodo platyrhynchus; f – Neobodo curvifilus; g – N. saliens; h–i – Hemistasia phaeocysticola, note a papillum (arrow); j – Bordnamonas tropicana, showing general appearance and mouth (arrow); k – Rhynchomonas nasuta; l–o – Rhynchobodo simius; l – tubular ingestion organelle (arrow); m, o – showing groove; n – general appearance of cell; p–q – Rhynchopus amitus; r–s – Spironema multiciliatum; t – Amastigomonas debruynei, general appearance of cell; u – Amastigomonas mutabilis, note anterior flagellum projecting from sleeve and recurrent flagellum; v – Apusomonas sp.; w – Psammosa unguis nov. comb., general appearance of cell; x–y – Mantamonas plastica; x – note anterior flagellum (arrow) and y – ventral depression.All micrographs are DIC images. Scale bar: 5 µm for all figures.