Taxonomic studies on seven species of Dysteria (Ciliophora, Cyrtophoria), including a description of Dysteria paraprocera sp. n.

The living morphology and infraciliature of seven Dysteria species isolated from the seas around China were investigated by observation of both living cells and specimens after protargol impregnation. Dysteria paraprocera sp. n. is characterized as follows: cell size 110-150 × 30-40 μm in vivo; body elongate rectangular and slender; a yellow-brown to dark red coloured pigment spot located at anterior end of body; three right kineties, with rightmost two extending apically to dorsal margin and innermost one starting at level of cytostome; eight or nine short left kineties at equatorial area. Dysteria nabia, D. proraefrons, D. brasiliensis, D. cristata, D. derouxi and D. crassipes basically correspond well with previous studies and therefore only brief descriptions are presented. Discussions of these species are helpful, however, in understanding the circumscription of Dysteria morphotypes. After careful comparison, Dysteria procera sensu Liu et al. (2008, Acta Hydrobiol. Sin. 32 (suppl.), 84-89 (in Chinese with English abstract)) was verified as a new species, D. subtropica sp. n., mainly because the innermost right kinety starts at mid-body. Small-subunit (SSU) rRNA genes were sequenced for four species of Dysteria, namely, D. paraprocera sp. n., D. subtropica sp. n., D. proraefrons and D. nabia. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses indicate that these species are well outlined and cluster with their congeners.