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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Archiastomata

Archiastomata Foissner, 1976 (ref. ID; 2014)

Class Oligohymenophora: Subclass Hymenostomata: Order Astomatida (ref. ID; 2014)

[ref. ID; 2014]
Large (220-250 um long) ovoid ciliate that is rounded in cross-section. Oral aperture absent. Somatic ciliation complete and more or less uniform with an anterior suture line where the kineties meet. A large central vacuole fills and discharge periodically, expelling rod-shaped crystals. When full, the vacuole can occupy half the cell volume and the body deforms on discharge. Contractile vacuoles small and spread all over body surface. The macronucleus is long and irregularly curved; there are many micronuclei. Single species genus, described from a highly eutrophic pool in the Austrian Alps.
Quote; Colin R. Curds, Michael A. Gates and David McL. Roberts "British and other freshwater ciliated protozoa Part II Ciliophora: Oligohymenophora and Polyhymenophora" Cambridge University Press, 1983 (ref. ID; 2014)
  1. Archiastomata adami Foissner (ref. ID; 3698)