Rimaleptus alpinus ( Kahl, 1931 ) Vd

Jung, Atef Omar and Jae-Ho, 2021, New record of 21 ciliate species (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from South Korea, Journal of Species Research 10 (3), pp. 301-320 : 311-312

14. Rimaleptus alpinus ( Kahl, 1931) Vd ̓ačný and

Foissner, 2012 ( Fig. 13D )

Material examined. Terrestrial moss collected from Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea (36°45 ʹ 57 ʺ N, 128°4 ʹ 29 ʺ E) on 29 March 2020 .

Diagnosis. Body size about 100 × 20 μm after protargol impregnation (n = 5); body slenderly dileptid with proboscis about 30% of body length; 2 contractile vacuoles on dorsal side; 2 ellipsoidal macronuclear nodules with a single micronucleus in between; about 10 somatic ciliary rows; 2 preoral kineties composed of oblique dikinetids; 2 brush rows with long bristles.

Distribution. Australia, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia, Japan, and Korea.

Remarks. The Korean population of Rimaleptus alpinus agrees with previous descriptions especially from Foissner (1989). Six species belong to the Rimaleptus alpinus group and characterized by two contractile vacuoles and two dorsal brush rows except R. binucleatus ( Kahl, 1931) Foissner, 1984 and R. conspicuus ( Kahl, 1931) Vd ̓ačný and Foissner, 2012 which have multi rows. Rimaleptus alpinus can be easily distinguished from other species in the group by the long (vs. short) brush cilia, the less number of ciliary rows (~10 vs. ≥12 on average), and the small- er body size (~100 vs.>120 μm on average) ( Foissner, 1989; Vd̓ačný and Foissner, 2012).

Voucher slides. One slide with protargol-impregnated specimens was deposited at the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources (NNIBRPR20128).

Figures

Fig. 13. Photomicrographs of Pseudomonilicaryon japonicum (A-C) and Rimaleptus alpinus (D) from life (A, B) and after protargol impregnation (C, D). A, B. Left side views showing the body shape and the contractile vacuoles location. C. Left side view showing body shape, somatic ciliature and oral opening. D. left side showing body shape, ciliature, and nuclear apparatus. CV, contractile vacuoles; MA, macronuclear nodule; MI, micronucleus; OO, oral opening. Scale bars=50μm (A-C) and 30 μm (D).