Heteropolaria
Heteropolaria Foissner & Schubert, 1977 (ref. ID; 2014)
Class Oligohymenophora: Subclass Peritricha: Order Peritrichida: Suborder Sessilina (ref. ID; 2014)
[ref. ID; 2014]
Colonial. Inverted bell-shaped body mounted upon branched non-contractile stalk. The peristome has a definite lip encircling the oral region and the peristomial membranelles wind about 1 and 1/2 times around the peristome. Epizooic on freshwater fish (Colisa fasciata) or the peritrich Apiosoma piscicola attached to sticklebacks. The telotrochs are orally/aborally flattened so that the ring of aboral cilia appears to encircle the length of the body.
Most easily confused with Epistylis in which the peristomial membranelles wind only once around the peristome and where the telotroch is of the normal type with the aboral ring of cilia encircling the narrow width of the body.
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)
- Heteropolaria colisarum Foissner & Schubert, 1977 (ref. ID; 3969) reported author and year? (ref. ID; 191)
- Heteropolaria lwoffi (Faure-Fremiet) (ref. ID; 3969)
Syn; Epistylis lwoffi Faure-Fremiet, 1943 (ref. ID; 3969)
Synonym
Epistylis lwoffi Faure-Fremiet, 1943 (ref. ID; 3969)
Descriptions
The colonial epistylidid Heteropolaria lwoffi is the only epizooic peritrich known to fasten to its host by means of either a ring-like or bifurcate stalk base. It was found by Faure-Fremiet (1943) on peritrichs of the genus Apiosoma that in turn attach to the skin of a fish host. First secreting a stalk base that completely encircles the base of an Apiosoma, it then secretes a rigid branched stalk of the usual epistylidid type, resulting in a colony of up to eight individuals. Unfortunately, Faure-Fremiet never observed the secretion of the stalk's basal ring. Lom & Varva (1961) later discovered other colonial forms of H. lwoffi epizooic on fishes that produce bifurcate and discoidal stalk base, as well as solitary form that possess a short stalk with a discoidal base. (ref. ID; 3969)
Comments
The atypical ring-like and bifurcate stalk bases secreted by H. lwoffi suggest a close relationship to ellobiophryids if the cinctal rod of Caliperia is indeed a modified stalk. An additional similarity between H. lwoffi and ellobiophryids is the asymmetrical form of their telotrochs. This is a characteristic a carried to an extreme in the genus Heteropolaria and forms the major basis of its separation from Epistylis. (ref. ID; 3969)