Morphology and Molecular Phylogeny of Pseudocyrtohymenides lacunae nov. gen., nov. spec. (Ciliophora: Oxytrichidae) from South Korea

We collected an 18-cirri oxytrichid ciliate from the brackish lagoon Songjiho, South Korea, in March 2012. Based on analyses of morphological and molecular attributes, we conclude that it is new genus and species. Pseudocyrtohymenides lacunae nov. gen., nov. spec. has similar morphological attributes to the genus Pseudocyrtohymena, however, the former species lacks caudal cirri. The sequence similarity of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene was 99.4% (10 nt difference) between Pseudocyrtohymenides lacunae and Pseudocyrtohymena koreana (type species).