Trichodinid ciliates (Peritrichia: Trichodinidae) from the Bay of Kiel, with description of Trichodina claviformis sp. n
Dobberstein, R.C.; Palm, H.W.
Folia Parasitologica 47(2): 81-90
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0015-5683 PMID: 10945730 Document Number: 513725
Studies of the epizoic fauna of Gadus morhua (cod), Platichthys flesus (flounder) and Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) from the Kiel Fjord and Kiel Bight (south-western Baltic Sea), Germany, were carried out between September 1996 and March 1997. Smears from 120 G. morhua and 92 P. flesus caught using fish traps and trammel nets, and from 35 O. mykiss obtained from a fish farm, revealed the presence of 3 species of trichodinid ciliates: Trichodina claviformis sp. nov. on G. morhua (the type host) and P. flesus; T. jadranica Haider, 1964 on P. flesus; and T. raabei Lom, 1962 also on P. flesus. The new species can be distinguished from other trichodinids by its large size in combination with the characteristically shaped adhesive disc containing denticles with club-like formed thorns. The thorns are directed anteriorly and not towards the centre of the adhesive disc. As the Kiel Bight and Kiel Fjord are new locality records for T. jadranica and T. raabei, morphological data are provided for both species. T. claviformis is the first peritrichous mobiline ciliate reported from Atlantic cod in the Baltic Sea. An identification key for 16 Trichodina species occurring on Baltic Sea fishes is provided based on the morphology of the adhesive disc and other well-established features. The occurrence of trichodinid ciliates on G. morhua and P. flesus in the Baltic Sea is discussed, considering in particular the biology of the hosts and the possible host specificity of the species.