Lembadion lucens ( Maskell, 1887 ) Kahl, 1931

Bharti, Daizy & Kumar, Santosh, 2021, New Records of Two Ciliated Protists from India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 121 (3), pp. 333-336 : 334

1. Lembadion lucens ( Maskell, 1887) Kahl, 1931 ( Figure 1 A-D)

Diagnosis of the Indian population (Data based on 11 specimens): Size on average 55 × 30 μm in protargol preparations, about65 × 35 μm in vivo; shape oval.Nuclear apparatus composed of one elongate or kidney-shaped or L-shaped macronuclear nodule with size about 12 × 8 μm located in posterior third of the body, about 25 μm distant from anterior body end and single micronuclei close to the macronuclear nodule. Somatic infraciliature consist of 25-35 meridional kineties. Single contractile vacuole at cell half toward right cell margin. Six to 10 caudal cilia present at the posterior body end. Buccal field wide with two paroral membranes.

Material deposited: A slide including protargolimpregnated specimens have been deposited at the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India with the accession number Pt. 3854 (11 specimens marked on the slide) .

Occurrence and ecology: The species Lembadion lucens has been reported several times, since its original description, in both freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems ( Maskell, 1887; Kahl, 1931; Dragesco & Dragesco-Kernéis 1986; Guinea et al., 1990; Foissner et al., 1994; Asadullayeva & Alekperov, 2007; Liu et al., 2017). The present study reports its presence from the soil samples collected from the Western Ghats (11°08’N 76°28’E), India. The soil sample was collected from the roots of a tall tree in the Silent Valley National Park. It feeds on flagellates, bacteria, and amoeba.

Figures

Figure 1. Photomicrographs of protargol impregnated specimens of Lembadion lucens. A-C. Specimens, showing the body shape, ciliary structures, and nuclear apparatus. Arrowheads in (A) point to the gradually shortened outer rows of adoral membranelles posteriorly. D. A divider. MA, macronuclear nodules; PM, paroral membrane. Scale bars 20 μm.