Further studies on the opalinid ciliate infusorians and their hosts

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThis paper should be read in connection with "The Opalinid CiliateInfusorians," U. S. National Museum Bulletin 120, 1923, of which it is really a revision and a second part. About 30 new species and subspecies are described; species described by others since 1923 are considered and illustrations and measurements copied; the taxonomy of the family is reviewed, as well as the data and hypotheses as to geographic distribution; and former reviews of the literature (Metcalf, 1909 and1923a) are brought to date. Thus, Bulletin 120 and the present paper together cover the family Opalinidae as now known.T he whole body of data as to geographical distribution of the parasites and the hosts is discussed in an attempt to answer a number of questions as to, e. g., place of origin of each of the several families, subfamihes, and some of the genera of Anura; the geologic period of I The cytology of the opalinids described in the present monograph has not been studied in detail. The author welcomes and cordially subscribes to the findings and conclusions of his friend Dr. T. T. Chen, who, in a series of studies, has described the behavior of opalinid chromosomes during mitosis in greater detail than has been done previously. Dr. Chen has demonstrated for the first time for the opalinids the following:(1) Individuality of chromosomes; (2) diploidy; (3) the relation between chromosomes and nucleoli; (4) that the so-called "macrochromosomes" described by other investigators are not chromosomes or a distinct set of chromosomes different from the ordinary kind but parts of certain chromosomes; (5) that the so-called "midmitotic resting stage" described by other investigators is a misinterpretation, the nucleoli in the resting nucleus having been considered as chromosomes. These phenomena had escaped observation or proper interpretation by other workers, though some of them were working in the best laboratories for protozoan cytology. I have seen Dr. Chen's preparations, and I am very glad of this opportunity to refer to the skill and accuracy of his beautiful studies, which place the cytology of the opalinids on a new and sound *""^• 465 466 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.87 the origin of each group of these hosts; the routes and the geologic times of the distribution of several groups of hosts; the places and times of origin of the several genera and some of the subgenera of opalinids and the routes and times of their distribution. Paleogeographic hypotheses of Arldt, Haug, Scharff, Schuchert, and others are tested by using them in connection with the distributional data from Anura and opalinids and seeing whether the hypotheses furnish reasonable explanations of the faunal data. The methods of speciation in the opalinids and the general principles of their evolution also are discussed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Opalinidae in African Anura. II. Genera Protozelleriella n. g. and Zelleriella

“…Zelleriella] in the Old World, "compared with its abundance in the New World". Knowledge of the Australian, South American, Oriental and, now, southern African species, appears to confirm what Metcalf (1940) suggested, i.e. a Gondwana origin for the genus.…”

“…The following authors did not find it: Stevenson (1911); Awerinzew (1913Awerinzew ( , 1914; Nazaretskaja (1922); Metcalf (1923Metcalf ( , 1940; Fantham (1923Fantham ( , 1924Fantham ( , 1929Fantham ( , 1930Fantham ( , 1931; Fantham & Robertson (1927; Boisson (1959aBoisson ( , 1959bBoisson ( , 1965; Tuzet & Zuber-Vogeli (1954); Tuzet & Knoepffler (1968); Thurston (1970); and Sandon (1941Sandon ( , 1976.…”

“…Outside the Afrotropical Region, the Bufonidae, in particular the genus Bufo, are major carriers of Zelleriella. For the Neotropical Region, see Metcalf (1914Metcalf ( , 1923Metcalf ( , 1940; Cordero (1919Cordero ( , 1928; Pinto (1926); Gabaldon (1930); Pess6a (1934aPess6a ( , 1934b; Unti (1935); ; Beltrfin (1941); Otamendi (1945); Ruiz & Alfaro (1959); Scorza (1959, cited by DfazUngria, 1960; Amaro (1962Amaro ( , 1964; Amaro & Toloza (1965); and Marinkelle (1965). For the Nearctic Region, see Metcalf (1923); Chen (1936Chen ( , 1948; ; Beltrfin (1941); Parry & Grundmann (1965); and Earl (1971Earl ( , 1972Earl ( , 1974.…”

“…Although his suggestion has not been followed by subsequent workers, the presence or absence of such characters could be of evolutionary significance. Metcalf (1940) regarded the "tail species in Protoopalina as constituting the most archaic subgenus" but he did not see any need to separate Zelleriella into "subgeneric groups" as they "are all so much alike" (Metcalf, 1923).…”

An Electron Microscope Study of Cortical Structures of Opalina Obtrigonoidea

“…Corliss (7) summarizes arguments concerning classification and agrees that a near-fagellate position is reasonable, while Ulrich (27) gives them separate status equivalent to his Flagellata, Rhizopoda, and so on. Metcalf (19,20) has been the most active spokesman for a pro-ciliate point of view. A detailed light microscope study of the species considered in the present report was made by Cosgrove (8).…”