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A new marine urostylid ciliate, Arcuseries minima sp. nov., was discovered in South Korea. Morphological observations and molecular phylogenetic analyses based on small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences were used to describe the new species. Arcuseries minima is most similar to A. scutellum among all Arcuseries species, but differs in the following main characters: number of adoral membranelles (13-16 vs. 17 or 18), cortical granules (yellowish, clustered around cirri and dorsal bristles vs. colorless, irregularly scattered), number of macronuclear nodules (20-27 vs. 42-90), number of midventral cirri (5-10 vs. 12-14), and number of transverse cirri (5 or 6 vs. 8). The new species and A. scutellum differ from A. petzi and A. warreni in having smaller body size (≤80 μm vs. ≥80 μm) and fewer cirri: left marginal (≤ 17 vs. ≥ 18) and transverse (≤ 8 vs. ≥8) cirri. This relationship was supported by the phylogenetic tree, where these two groups were separated into two branches.

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Strongylidium koreanum n. sp., a new soil ciliate from Jeju Island, South Korea, is described based on live observations, protargol impregnation, and molecular analysis of the 18S rRNA gene sequence. It is characterized by the following morphological features: cell outline more or less fusiform, posterior end broader than anterior end; grayish under low magnification; cortical granules absent; 23–32 adoral membranelles; three enlarged frontal cirri; buccal cirrus and postoral ventral cirrus present; 27–42 left and 15–28 right ventral cirri; 23–36 left and 30–46 right marginal cirri; three dorsal kineties; three caudal cirri; and two macronuclear nodules with two or three micronuclei. Phylogenetic analyses show that Strongylidium is monophyletic.