Cap 17

fishes ; seven gen-
era and two genera incertae sedis . 
 – Chilodonatella Dragesco, 1966 
 – Chilodonella Strand, 1928 
 – Phascolodon Stein, 1859 
 – Pseudochilodonopsis Foissner, 1979 
 – Talitrochilodon Jankowski, 1980 
 – Thigmogaster Deroux, 1976 
 – Trithigmostoma Jankowski, 1967 
Incertae sedis in Family Chilodonellidae 
 – Odontochlamys Certes, 1891 
 – Phyllotrichum Engelmann in Bütschli, 1889 
 Family CHITONELLIDAE Small & Lynn, 1985 
 Size, small; shape, ovoid to spheroid; sedentary
(?) in stalkless lorica, attached to substrate; 
somatic kineties as only two right kineties and 
about four left kineties; oral ciliature as only 
one circumoral kinety ; macronucleus, centric 
heteromerous, globular; micronucleus, present; 
contractile vacuole, present; cytoproct (?); feeding 
(?); in marine habitats, recorded only once from a 
salt marsh, kathrobic; one genus. 
 – Chitonella Small & Lynn, 1985 
 Family CHLAMYDODONTIDAE Stein, 1859 
 (syn. Chlamidodontidae ) 
 Size, small to medium; shape, nearly ellipsoidal, 
with width > 2/3 length; free-swimming; dorsal
and ventral surfaces separated by the “railroad 
track” groove, which is supported by regular 
cytoskeletal elements; ventral somatic kineties 
running from the right ventral body surface 
to dorsal right and anterior left surfaces; local 
region of thigmotactic cilia at posterior of ven-
tral surface, but not developed as a non-ciliated 
adhesive region ; oral ciliature as preoral and 
two circumoral kineties; macronucleus, juxtaposed 
heteromeric, globular to ellipsoid; micronucleus, 
present; contractile vacuole, may be multiple; 
cytoproct (?); feeding typically on diatoms and fila-
mentous algae; in marine habitats; three genera. 
 – Chlamydodon Ehrenberg, 1835 
 – Cyrtophoron Deroux, 1975 
 – Lynchellodon Jankowski, 1980 
 Family GASTRONAUTIDAE Deroux, 1994 
 Size, small; shape, ovoid, flattened; free-
swimming; oral opening, a large, elongate, and 
transverse groove, oriented across body axis so 
that some somatic kineties on the right side are 
broken into preoral and postoral fragments; 
oral ciliature, apparently as one kinety that 
encircles the perimeter of the large oral open-
ing ; macronucleus, centric heteromerous, ellip-
soid; micronucleus, present; contractile vacuole, 
present; cytoproct (?); feeding (?); in freshwater 
and terrestrial habitats, even as a commensal (?) in 
small freshwater mussels ; two genera. 
 – Gastronauta Engelmann in Bütschli, 1889 
 – Paragastronauta Foissner, 2001 
 Family KRYOPRORODONTIDAE Alekperov & 
Mamajeva, 1992 
(syn. Gymnozoonidae)
 Size, small to medium; shape, circular in cross-
section; free-swimming; somatic kineties evenly 
disposed around the body, with several somatic 
kineties extending to encircle the apical cyto-
stome; oral kineties as a series of small frag-
ments accompanied by dikinetids ; macronucleus, 
juxtaposed heteromerous, ellipsoid; micronucleus, 
present; contractile vacuole (?); cytoproct (?); feed-
ing (?); in marine habitats, planktonic and near sea 
ice; one genus. 
 – Gymnozoum Meunier, 1910 
 Family LYNCHELLIDAE Jankowski, 1968 
 Size, small to medium; shape, elongate to 
discoid, somewhat rounded anteriorly; free-
swimming; dorsal and ventral surfaces may be 
separated by “railroad track” groove (see Family 
382 17. The Ciliate Taxa Including Families and Genera
 Chlamydodontidae ); typically anterior preoral 
arcs of some-to-all right ventral somatic kine-
ties not continuous with more posterior parts of 
those kineties, and left somatic kineties reduced 
to fewer than 7 ; thigmotactic zone broad, pos-
terior, with curious structureless protrusions in 
several species; oral kineties, anterior to cyto-
stome, typically more than three, of variable 
pattern, but often as flattened “Y”, opened to 
the left ; tips of oral nematodesmata often toothed; 
macronucleus, juxtaposed heteromeric, ellipsoid; 
micronucleus, present; contractile vacuole, may 
be multiple; cytoproct (?); feeding (?); in marine 
and freshwater benthic habitats, often in sands; six 
genera and one genus incertae sedis . 
 – Atopochilodon Kahl, 1933 
 – Chlamydonella Petz, Song, & Wilbert, 1995 
 – Chlamydonellopsis Blatterer & Foissner, 1990 
 – Coeloperix Gong & Song, 2004 *
 – Lynchella Kahl in Jankowski, 1968 
 – Wilbertella Gong & Song, 2006 *
Incertae sedis in Family Lynchellidae 
 – Lophophorina Penard, 1922 
 Order Dysteriida Deroux, 1976 
 (syns. Dysteriina , Hartmannulina ) 
 Size, small to large; shape, typically laterally 
compressed with dorsal surface rounded, in extreme; 
free-swimming, but often temporarily attached; ven-
tral cilia not thigmotactic, but ciliate attached to 
substrate by non-ciliated adhesive region or by 
flexible podite (except Atelepithites ) ; macronu-
cleus, juxtaposed heteromerous; widespread and 
numerous, mainly marine, but some ectosymbiotic 
forms with members of the Family Kyaroikeidae 
exclusively on cetaceans ; four families. 
 Family DYSTERIIDAE Claparède & Lachmann, 
1858
 (syns. Erviliidae , Trochiliidae ) 
 Size small; shape, ovoid to almost rectangular, 
may be conspicuously laterally compressed; free-
swimming; somatic ciliature, typically reduced, 
with left ventral somatic kineties as midven-
tral postoral field, typically separated from an 
anterior preoral field; flexible podite used for 
attachment ; oral ciliature as two or more small 
kinetofragments disposed around the cytostome; 
nematodesmata of cyrtos reduced to six or fewer, 
with cytopharyngeal capitula or “teeth” often 
prominent ; macronucleus, juxtaposed heteromer-
ous, globular to ellipsoid; micronucleus, present; 
contractile vacuole, present, may be multiple; 
cytoproct (?); feeding on bacteria and microalgae; 
in marine and freshwater habitats, widely distrib-
uted, mainly in marine habitats, and frequently as 
symphorionts; seven genera. 
 – Agnathodysteria Deroux, 1977 
 – Dysteria Huxley, 1857 
 – Hartmannulopsis Deroux & Dragesco, 1968 
 – Mirodysteria Kahl, 1933 
 – Schedotrochilia Deroux, 1977 
 – Orthotrochilia Song, 2003 *
 – Trochilia Dujardin, 1841 
 Family HARTMANNULIDAE Poche, 1913 
 (for Onychodactylidae ; syns. Aegyrianidae , 
 Aegyrianinae , Allosphaeriidae , Trichopodiellidae , 
 Trochilioididae , Trochilioidinae ) 
 Size, small to medium; shape, ovoid, flattened; 
free-swimming, but may attach to substrate, some-
times making a “byssal” filament; somatic cili-
ature with left ventral somatic kineties, which 
may be quite short, as continuous field (i.e., 
not fragmented); ventral kineties behind podite 
(i.e. transpodial kineties) with more closely 
packed kinetosomes ; oral ciliature, variable, rang-
ing from a single circumoral kinetofragment to 
the typical preoral and two circumoral kinetofrag-
ments; nematodesmata of cyrtos, ranging from thin 
and inconspicuous to prominent, typically many; 
macronucleus, juxtaposed heteromerous, ellipsoid; 
micronucleus, present; contractile vacuole, may 
be multiple; cytoproct (?); feeding on bacteria, 
 diatoms , and other microalgae; in marine habitats, 
free-living but Brooklynella harmful as gill parasite 
of marine fishes ; eleven genera. 
 – Aegyriana Song & Wilbert, 2002 *
 – Allosphaerium Kidder & Summers, 1935 
 – Brooklynella Lom & Nigrelli, 1970 
 – Chlamydonyx Deroux, 1977 
 – Hartmannula Poche, 1913 
 – Horocontus Deroux, 1977 
 – Microxysma Deroux, 1977 
 – Paratrochilia Kahl, 1933 
17.3 The Ciliate Taxa to Genus 383
 – Sigmocineta Jankowski, 1967 
 – Trichopodiella Corliss, 1960 
 – Trochilioides Kahl, 1931 ( nomen nudum ) 
 Family KYAROIKEIDAE Sniezek & Coats, 1996 
 Size, medium; shape, elongate, ovoid, circular in 
cross-section; free-swimming; somatic ciliation, 
essentially holotrichous, but with left-ventral 
non-ciliated strip at whose anterior end is the 
left somatic field as four kinetal fragments 
anteriorly and midventrally;