portrait

Description :

Portrait (ventral view) of the marine hypotrich ciliate, Kiitricha marina (Nozowa, 1941). The genus is monotypic. The cell has a broadly elliptical outline and is dorsoventrally flattened. The dorsal surface is slightly convex, the ventrum slight concave. The large peristome extends from the anterior end along the left side to terminate in a cytostome in the posterior ¼ of the body. There is a prominent adoral zone of membranelles on the left margin of the peristome and an undulating membrane on its right margin. Uniform dorsal kineties run from left anterior to right posterior on the dorsal surface. On the ventral surface there are approximately 10 longitudinal rows of cirri to the right of and posterior to the cytostome (seen in this image). There are five large transverse cirri lying to the right of the posterior end of the cytostome within the ventral cirral field (seen well in this image). This feature distinguishes Kiitricha marina from the very similar Caryotricha convexa whose transverse cirri lie outside the ventral cirral field posterior and to the left of the peristome. There is a single ovoid macronucleus with an adjacent spherical micronucleus in the center. Collected from a commercial saltwater aquarium in Boise, Idaho February 2004. DIC optics.