A redescription of the marine hypotrichous ciliate, Nothoholosticha fasciola (Kahl, 1932) nov. gen., nov. comb. (Ciliophora: Urostylida) with brief notes on its cellular reorganization and SS rRNA gene sequence

The morphology and infraciliature of the marine hypotrichous ciliate Nothoholosticha fasciola (Kahl, 1932) nov. gen., nov. comb., isolated from mariculture waters near Qingdao, China, are redescribed based on live and protargol-impregnated specimens. Features reported for the first time include the possession of more than 50 macronuclear nodules and details of the infraciliature, i.e. 50–60 adoral membranelles, shortened paroral and endoral membranes, six frontal, one buccal and two to seven transverse cirri, ca. 40 pairs of midventral cirri, ca. 60–120 left and 70–120 right marginal cirri, three dorsal kineties, caudal and frontoterminal cirri absent. In addition, brief details of two stages of cellular reorganization in N. fasciola are supplied and comparisons with some related urostylids based on SS rRNA gene sequence data are reported. The new genus Nothoholosticha is established based primarily on the absence of frontoterminal cirri, which distinctly separates it from similar urostylid genera. Anteholosticha longissima is transferred to Nothoholosticha as N. longissima (Dragesco and Dragesco-Kernéis, 1986) nov. comb. and Holosticha antarctica is transferred to Pseudokeronopsis as P. antarctica (Wilbert and Song, 2008) nov. comb.