Ephelota gemmipara (Hertwig, 1876)

Chatterjee, Tapas, Dovgal, Igor, Mayén-Estrada, Rosaura & Fernandez-Leborans, Gregorio, 2020, A checklist of ciliates (Ciliophora) inhabiting on ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda), Zootaxa 4763 (1), pp. 17-30 : 18-19

Ephelota gemmipara (Hertwig, 1876)

= Podophrya gemmipara Hertwig, 1876, p. 24

= Hemiophrya gemmipara (Hertwig, 1876) Kent, 1881

= Dendrophrya gemmipara (Hertwig, 1876) Sand, 1895

= Alderia apiculosa Pritchard, 1852

= Ephelota apiculosa (Pritchard, 1852) Wright, 1858

= Podophrya pusilla Koch, 1876

= Hemiophrya pusilla (Koch, 1876) Kent, 1881

= Podophrya benedeni Fraipont, 1878

= Hemiophrya microsoma Maupas, 1881

= Ephelota crustaceorum (Haller, 1878) Yagiu, 1980

Record as epibiont on ostracods: The species recently was found on C. dentata in the offshore of Arabian Sea ( Chatterjee et al. 2019b).

Record as epibiont on other hosts: Ubiquitous species, observed colonizing inanimate substrates, algae, hydroids, bryozoans, etc. ( Dovgal 2013).This species was also found as epibiont on various copepods eg., Calanus finmarchicus (Gunnerus, 1765) , Candacia armata (Boeck, 1872) , Pleuromamma borealis (F. Dahl, 1893) and P. gracilis (Claus, 1863) (Steuer1928; Rose 1924; Fernandez-Leborans & Tato-Porto 2000b). Santhakumari (1985) reported this species as epibiont on copepods Euchaeta marina (Prestandrea, 1833) , Candacia tuberculata Wolfenden, 1905 , Labidocera acuta (Dana, 1849) , Undinula vulgaris (Dana, 1849) , other two copepods of genera Pontella and Labidocera (species name written wrongly) and commented that this suctorian was found infesting chiefly the postero-dorsal region of cephalothorax. Santhakumari (1986b) reported this species as epibiont on the zoea of pea crab Porcellana sp.

Remarks: This species has been reported from variety of host and substrates.