Taxonomy of four scuticociliates(Protozoa: Ciliophora) from coastal waters of South Korea

Taxonomy of four scuticociliates(Protozoa: Ciliophora) from coastal waters of South Korea

The diversity of scuticociliates (subclass Scuticociliatia Small, 1967) had previously been superficially investigated in Korea and only 10 species were reported according to the National Species List of Korea published in 2019. Here, we identify four scuticociliates, collected from three coastal water samples, by observing protargol-impregnated specimens. As a result, the present species belong to the order Pleuronematida Fauré-Fremiet in Corliss, 1956 and their lower taxonomic classifications are as follows: family Eurystomatellidae Miao et al., 2010 - Eurystomatella sinica Miao et al., 2010; family Pleuronematidae Kent, 1881 - Pleuronema grolierei Wang et al., 2008, P. setigerum Calkins, 1902, and Schizocalyptra aeschtae Long et al., 2007. The family Eurystomatellidae and the genus Schizocalyptra Dragesco, 1968 are reported for the first time in Korea. Considering that the scuticociliates are a species-rich group and very common in most habitats(including freshwater and terrestrial habitats), our findings indicate that we are far from understanding the complete diversity of Korean scuticociliates.