Litonotus? more than two macronucleus?

[carlos.uruguay]

The ciliated one that we observe lives on the coasts of the Atlantic ocean in a Paloma - Uruguay.
It measures about 120um (0,12mm) but it can stretch much more.
It has parallel rows of cilia in itsr body.
It has big 'thorns' (trichocysts) in one of the rims of its 'neck' that serve him to defend themselves.
We assume that there may be a Litonotus gender ciliated
We think observed more than two macronucleus, which surprises us, because Litonotus should have only two.
Oblique polarized light, phase contrast.
Objective of 40X.
Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG3QBmhYbOM
Regards
carlos

[Bruce Taylor]

Carlos, this is a really nice record of this ciliate...whatever it might be!

To my eye, the ciliary rows are convergent, in the Amphileptus pattern. Pause the video 0:10 - 0:11 , and you miight see what I mean. The anterior kineties appear to nest within one another, like the waterlines of a boat, and come to a point, rather than running out at the peristome (or so it seems to me...the video is brief, and I am not sure I am interpreting it correctly).

The 3-part macronucleus could well be an individual anomaly. Individual exceptions to the 2-nodule standard are not uncommon. Weibo Song and coauthors record such abnormalities in Amphileptus marinus: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 3904000021

If other members of the population have this feature, that is a different story. While 2-part macs are common in pleurostomatida, they are certainly not universal. Many Litonotus do have multiple macronuclei (L. bergeri has 2-9, L. petzi has 7-10, etc).

[carlos.uruguay]

Thanks Bruce, I have already modified the text in de video
I was hoping to find another of these ciliates to confirm, but i haven't been able
I think you're right. I read wrong and was looking for a rear rows of cilia convergence
But, as you indicate, is evident in the video that they converge at the anterior end
But I could not have observed to it, the vacuolas that should be present
"Many contractile vacuoles are present along both dorsal and ventral edges." (Marine Interstitial Ciliates - Philip Carey)
What do you think Bruce?
Pd. I have not been able to read the text that you send me because it is for payment
Thank you very much in advance
carlos

[Bruce Taylor]

The number of contractile vacuoles seems to vary a lot, among species within the genera. It does not seem to be a useful criterion. Carey himself goes on to describe Amphileptus agilis, which has only one; Lin et al. describe just one CV for Amphileptus yuianus, etc. Here, I see one posterior CV very clearly (at 0:22), and suspect I see a few smaller ones (but can't be sure).

Sorry for the inaccessible article (I don't see the paywall on my system).

[carlos.uruguay]

Thank you Bruce.
I have already adapted the text. (It had another very good video of this one ciliated but I have erased it!)