Cap 17

Haeckel, 1866 
 (syns. Parapodophryidae , Sphaerophryidae ) 
 Size, small to medium; trophonts, pyriform 
or spherical, typically without lorica (except 
Podophrya life cycle) ; usually stalked; tentacles,
capitate, apical or evenly distributed; swarm-
ers, commonly apically produced one at a time 
17.3 The Ciliate Taxa to Genus 391
and sometimes as large as adult; swarmers, 
frequently cylindrical, with broad equatorial 
band of cilia ; macronucleus, globular; micronu-
cleus, present; contractile vacuole, present; encyst-
ment common, on a stalk, with cyst wall having 
transverse circular ribs ; generally in freshwater 
habitats, often attached to other ciliates as para-
sites; three genera. 
 – Parapodophrya Kahl, 1931 
 – Podophrya Ehrenberg, 1834 
 – Sphaerophrya Claparède & Lachmann, 1859 
 Family PRAETHECACINETIDAE Dovgal, 1996 
 Size, medium; trophont, pyriform or sac-like, 
attached to the bottom of a lorica ; stalked; ten-
tacles, capitate, arranged in a single, apical fas-
cicle ; swarmer, elongate, ciliated, formed laterally; 
macronucleus, globular to ellipsoid; micronucleus, 
present; contractile vacuole, present; in marine 
habitats as ectocommensals on invertebrates; one 
genus.
 – Praethecacineta Matthes, 1956 
 Family RHABDOPHRYIDAE Jankowski, 1970 
 (syn. Trophogemmidae ) 
 Size, small to medium; trophont, laterally flat-
tened, ribbon-like or sac-like ; stalk, short, broad; 
tentacles, rod-like, short, evenly distributed or 
in transverse groupings along the longitudinal 
axis of the body processes, sometimes borne 
on actinophores ; swarmers, vermiform, ciliated, 
cylindrical; macronucleus, ellipsoid; micronucleus, 
present; contractile vacuoles, two to three; in 
marine habitats as ectocommensals on crustaceans , 
such as shrimp ; five genera. 
 – Hastarcon Jankowski, 1981 
 – Rhabdophrya Chatton & Collin, 1910 
 – Spinarcon Jankowski, 1981 
 – Trophogemma Jankowski, 1970 
 – Vostonica Jankowski, 1994 
 Family SEVERONIDAE Jankowski, 1981 
 Size, small; trophont, globular to ellipsoid, 
attached to the substrate by a body protuberance or 
basal “button”; tentacles, capitate, evenly distrib-
uted on apical surface; swarmer with narrow 
equatorial ciliated girdle ; macronucleus, ellip-
soid; micronucleus (?); contractile vacuole (?); in 
marine habitats as an ectocommensal of sponges ; 
one genus. 
 – Severonis Jankowski, 1981 
 Family SPELAEOPHRYIDAE Jankowski in 
Batisse, 1975 
 Size, medium to large; trophont, cylindrical, 
conical or trumpet-shaped; stalk, short; tenta-
cles, capitate, in an apical corona or in groups 
along the body, possibly prehensile as well as 
suctorial types ; swarmer, vermiform, cylindrical, 
non-ciliated; macronucleus, ellipsoid or ribbon-
like; micronucleus, present; contractile vacuoles, 
multiple; in marine and freshwater habitats as 
ectocommensals on crustaceans , such as decapod 
 shrimp ; two genera. 
 – Cucumophrya Kunz, 1936 
 – Spelaeophrya Stammer, 1935 
 Family TACHYBLASTONIDAE Grell, 1950 
 Size, small to medium; with two alternating 
generations – one, loricate, often attached to 
various marine hydrozoans and even to the stalk 
of Ephelota , producing up to 16 small non-cili-
ated, unitentaculate forms that pierce the pel-
licle of the Ephelota body and become the second 
generation, which lives parasitically within the 
cytoplasm of Ephelota and produces large cili-
ated larvae that, in turn, attach to the host stalk, 
become loricate, and repeat the cycle ; repro-
duction by lateral, sequential semi-circumvagina-
tive budding; macronucleus, globular to ellipsoid; 
micronucleus, present; contractile vacuole (?); in 
marine habitats; one genus. 
 – Tachyblaston Martin, 1909 
 Family THECACINETIDAE Matthes, 1956 
 Size, small to medium; trophont, sac-like, 
attached to bottom of lorica near stalk ; stalked; 
tentacles, clavate, grouped on rounded, dis-
tal, narrow end of body ; swarmers, ellipsoidal, 
flattened, or vermiform, ciliated on one margin; 
macronucleus, ellipsoid; micronucleus, present; 
contractile vacuole, present; predominantly in 
392 17. The Ciliate Taxa Including Families and Genera
marine habitats as ectosymbionts on algae, crusta-
ceans , and nematodes ; one genus. 
 – Thecacineta Collin, 1909 
 Order Endogenida Collin, 1912 
 (syns. Acinetida , Acinetina , Astrosomatida , 
 Dendrosomatida , Dendrosomatina , Endogenea , 
 Endogenia , Endosphaeriida , Endosphaeriina , 
 Entotropida p.p ., Heliophryida , Marinectida , 
 Oligostomatida p.p ., Pseudogemmida p.p ., Sole-
nophryina p.p ., Stylophryina , Tokophryina , 
 Trichophryida p.p .) 
 Size, small to large; trophonts, ovoid to sphe-
roid, but ramified and of enormous size in some 
groups; often loricate; tentacles, frequently in 
fascicles; endogenous budding occurring in 
a pouch, monogemmic or polygemmic, with 
swarmers produced completely internally 
and becoming free-swimming in brood pouch 
before emergence through birth pore ; small 
permanent field of non-ciliferous kinetosomes 
near contractile vacuole responsible for larval 
ciliature; swarmer, small, ciliated ; in marine 
and freshwater habitats, with ectosymbiotic 
forms common and some endocommensals; 13 
families. 
 Family ACINETIDAE Stein, 1859 
 (syn. Cryptophryidae ) 
 Size, small to medium; trophonts, laterally 
flattened, trapezium-like, triangular or rarely 
disc-like; in lorica, which is often triangular in 
shape; stalked, with stalk persisting in some but 
not all endosymbiotic forms ; tentacles, in two or 
three rows or fascicles, typically on actinophores; 
swarmers small, ovoid, with oblique, longitu-
dinal somatic kineties ; macronucleus, ellipsoid 
or ribbon-like; micronucleus, present; contractile 
vacuole, present; in marine and freshwater habitats 
as free-living forms or if attached, never intracel-
lular; 13 genera. 
 – Acineta Ehrenberg, 1834 
 – Acinetides Swarczewsky, 1928 
 – Anthacineta Jankowski, 1978 
 – Cryptacineta Jankowski, 1978 
 – Cryptophrya Jankowski, 1973 
 – Phyllacineta Jankowski, 1978 
 – Rondacineta Jankowski, 1978 (subj. syn. 
Tokophrya ) 
 – Soracineta Jankowski, 1978 (subj. syn. 
Pelagacineta ) 
 – Squalorophrya Goodrich & Jahn, 1943 (subj. 
syn. Tokophrya ) 
 – Trematosoma Batisse, 1973 
 – Vasacineta Jankowski, 1981 (subj. syn. 
Metacineta ) 
 – Veracineta Jankowski, 1978 
 Family ACINETOPSIDAE Jankowski, 1978 
 Size, small to medium; trophonts, trapezium-
like, laterally flattened; loricate; stalked; tentacles
of two types – hypertrophied, agile prehensile 
ones and regular feeding ones ; macronucleus, 
globular to ellipsoid; micronucleus, present; con-
tractile vacuole, present; in marine and freshwater 
habitats as ectosymbionts on plants and inverte-
brates; one genus. 
 – Acinetopsis Robin, 1879 
 Family CHOANOPHRYIDAE Dovgal, 2002 
 Size, small; trophont, globular to ellipsoid; 
stalked; tentacles, funnel-like, lacking the inner 
microtubular phyllae ; macronucleus, globular to 
ellipsoid; micronucleus, present; contractile vacu-
ole, present; feeding on liquid remains of host’s 
food; in freshwater habitats as ectocommensals on 
 cyclopoid crustaceans ; one genus. 
 – Choanophrya Hartog, 1902 
 Family CORYNOPHRYIDAE Jankowski, 1981 
 Size, large; trophont, spheroid to cylindroid; 
in lorica, but not basally attached; stalk, well-
developed; tentacles, capitate, extensible and 
contractile, but not flexible, arranged in a 
single apical fascicle or evenly distributed; 
swarmer, club-shaped with large marginal 
ciliated field ; macronucleus, ellipsoid to ribbon-
like; micronucleus, present; contractile vacuole, 
present; in marine habitats as ectosymbionts on 
algae, hydroids , molluscs , and crustaceans ; two 
genera. 
 – Andrusoviella Dovgal, 2005 *
 – Corynophrya Kahl in Curds, 1987 
17.3 The Ciliate Taxa to Genus 393
 Family DACTYLOSTOMATIDAE Jankowski,