AUTHOR=Wu Lei , Li Jiqiu , Warren Alan , Lin Xiaofeng 

TITLE=Species Diversity of the Pleurostomatid Ciliate Genus Amphileptus (Ciliophora, Haptoria), With Notes on the Taxonomy and Molecular Phylogeny of Three Species

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.642767

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2021.642767

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=The genus Amphileptus is one of the largest genera of pleurostomatid ciliates and its species diversity has been reported in various habitats all over the world. In the present work, we review its biodiversity based on a collection of available data with reliable morphological records. Our work confirms that there are 50 valid Amphileptus species. These show a wide range of salinity adaptability and diverse lifestyles, and although most seem to be endemic several are cosmopolitan. This genus shows a high alpha diversity in China but this might be because of the relative intensive sampling. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rDNA sequence data verifies the non-monophyly of the genus Amphileptus. Furthermore, two new and one poorly known Amphileptus species, namely A. shenzhenensis sp. n., A. cocous sp. n., and A. multinucleatus Wang, 1934 from coastal habitats of southern China were investigated using morphological and molecular phylogenetic methods. These three species are highly similar based on their contractile vacuoles and macronuclear nodules. However, they can be discriminated by detailed traits of their living morphology and somatic kineties. We also propose two new combinations, Amphileptus polymicronuclus (Li, 1990) comb. n. [original combination Hemiophrys polymicronuclei Li, 1990] and Amphileptus salimicus (Burkobsky, 1970) comb. n. [original combination Hemiophrys salimica Burkobsky, 1970].