dc:description"Figs 7a–r. Spathidium bromeliophilum from life (a–e, o–p) and after protargol impregnation (f–n, q, r). a – right side view of a representative specimen, length 135 μm. Arrowhead marks end of bristle tail of brush row 3; b, c – the ∞-shaped oral bulge, which is slightly dumbbell-shaped and/or cuneate, is studded with extrusomes. The oblique fibre bundles originate from the circumoral dikinetids; d – two views of the same extrusome, length 5 µm; e – surface view, showing the two size-types of cortical granules, diameter 0.2 µm and 0.4 µm; f–j – variability of shape of body and oral bulge whose ventral third is often curved laterally; k, l – a specimen engulfing a Colpoda (k) and another that has just engulfed a Vorticella; m, n – ciliary pattern of right and left side and nuclear apparatus of holotype specimen, length 138 μm; o, p – detail and overview of a resting cyst with inactive contractile vacuole, diameter 42 µm; q, r – ciliary pattern of anterior dorsal and ventral side, showing the isostichad dorsal brush and the wide spacing of the dikinetids in row 3. B(1–3) – dorsal brush (rows), BA – oral basket, BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety, CV – contractile vacuole, E – extrusomes, EP – excretory pores, FV – food vacuole, LD – lipid droplets, MA – macronuclear nodules, MI – micronuclei. Scale bars: 40 μm (a, f–n), 20 μm (q–r) and 2 μm (o).";
dc:description"Figs 8a–g. Spathidium bromeliophilum after protargol impregnation. a, b – right and left side view of the same specimen; c – left side view of a specimen with many small macronuclear nodules; d – anterior dorsal view of the proter from a late divider, showing the isostichad dorsal brush; e–g – anterior right (e) and left (f, g) side views of the specimens shown in Figs (a–c). Arrowheads (f, g) mark nematodesma bundles forming the oral basket. B(1–3) – dorsal brush (rows), BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety, F – oral bulge fibres, MA – mac- ronucleus, MI – micronuclei. (Without scale bars because from ± squashed specimens.)";
dc:description"Figs 9a–h. Spathidium bromeliophilum in the SEM (a, b) and from life (c–h). a – a slender specimen; b – ventrolateral view, showing the cuneate oral bulge (arrowheads) and circumoral cilia (arrow); c, g – the extrusomes are about 5 μm long and are slightly asymmetrical (c); d–f – type III resting cysts, about 40 μm across. Mature cysts (e) show a thin (~ 1 μm) and smooth wall (opposed arrowheads), separated from the cytoplasm by a ~ 0.5 μm thick hyaline sheet (endocyst?) not recognizable in squashed cysts (f). When degenerated, the cytoplasm detaches from the wall (d); h – surface view showing the two-size types of cortical granules, diameter 0.2 μm and 0.4 μm (arrows and ar- rowheads). BU – oral bulge. Scale bars: 40 μm (a), 25 μm (d, e), 10 μm (b) and 5 μm (f, g).";
dc:description"Figs 10a–e. Spathidium bromeliophilum, ontogenesis of ciliary pattern after protargol impregnation. Corresponding body and nuclear changes are shown in Figs 11a–j. a – very early divider, showing basal body production in the prospective division zone. Asterisk denotes a slight indentation in fission area. Nuclear apparatus as shown in Figs 11a, b; b – early divider where the developing dorsal brush rows (1–3) and the circumoral kinety fragments (placed between arrowheads) of the opisthe are already recognizable. Note blebs in fission area left of the circumoral kinety fragments (arrowheads). Nuclear apparatus as shown in Fig. 11c; c – middle stage, showing blebs (arrowheads) in prospective fission area. Nuclear apparatus as shown in Figs 11d, e; d – late divider with a single macronuclear strand (Fig. 11f) and conspicuous division furrow (arrows); e – very late divider with proter and opisthe about to separate, length 170 μm (Fig. 11g). B(1–3) – dorsal brush rows, BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety, MA – macronucleus, MI – micronuclei.Scale bars: 20 μm (a–d) and 30 μm (e).";
dc:description"Figs 11a–j. Spathidium bromeliophilum, body and nuclear changes in dividers (a–g) and post-dividers (h–j) after protargol impregnation; drawn to scale. For the ciliary pattern, see Figs 10a–e, 12a–f, 15a–d. a – a morphostatic specimen with many macronuclear nodules scattered throughout the cytoplasm; b – early divider with most macronuclear nodules fused; c, d – middle dividers in which the macronuclear nodules fused to an irregular mass. Note micronuclear division and the slightly inflated fission area; e, f – middle-late and late stage, showing elongation of body and macronucleus, and division furrow. The opisthe is considerably narrower than the proter (f), a rare feature (Table 5); g – very late divider, showing proter and opisthe about to separate while the macronucleus has already divided; h–j – post-dividers develop a three-dimensional macronuclear reticulum (h, i) that breaks into many nodules during the maturation of the cell (j, a). BU – oral bulge, CV – contractile vacuole, MA – macronuclear nodules, MI – micronuclei. Scale bar: 40 μm.";
dc:description"Figs 12a–f. Spathidium bromeliophilum, dividers after protargol impregnation. a–c – overview and details of an early divider. Note body indentation (asterisks), basal bodies production in the division zone of all kineties (arrowhead), and beginning fusion of macronuclear nodules (arrow in c); d–f – a middle divider, showing an inflated fission area (small arrowheads), the developing dorsal brush (1–3), the oral kinetofragments (large arrowheads), and the macronuclear strand that developed by fusion of the macronuclear nodules. B(1–3) – dorsal brush rows, MA – macronucleus, MI – micronuclei. (Without scale bars because from ± squashed specimens.)";
dc:description"Figs 13a–g. Spathidium bromeliophilum after protargol impregnation. a, b, e – anterior body portion of three specimens, showing the oral bulge whose ventral third is curved laterally in 80% of the specimens (b) and straight in the rest (a, e). Note the oblique microtubule bundles originating from the dikinetids of the circumoral kinety (a) and forming the oral basket (e, arrowheads); c – view of the inflated fission area of a middle divider, showing micronuclear fission and the macronuclear strand that developed by fusion of the macronuclear nodules; d – post-conjugant, showing four macronuclear nodules and the slightly convex oral bulge whose dorsal end is higher than the ventral end; f, g – an early divider, showing a slight body indentation (asterisk) and basal body production in the prospective division zone of most kineties. B – dorsal brush, BA – oral basket, BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety, E – extrusomes, F – oral bulge fibres (microtubule bundles), MA – macronucleus, MI – micronuclei. (Without scale bars because from ± squashed specimens.)";
dc:description"Figs 14a–c. Spathidium bromeliophilum, late divider after protargol impregnation. a–c – overview and details of the fission area, showing the ventral (b) and dorsal (c) side. Arrowheads (b) mark the growing nematodesma bundles (oral basket fibres) originating from the diki- netids of the circumoral kinety fragments. Arrow (c) denotes a bleb left of the circumoral kinety fragments of the opisthe. 1, 2, 3 – dorsal brush rows, BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety, MA – macronucleus, MI – micronuclei. (Without scale bars because from ± squashed specimens.)";
dc:description"Figs 15a–f. Spathidium bromeliophilum after protargol impregnation. a–d – overview and details of a very late divider, showing the elliptical oral field of the opisthe whose circumoral kinety fragments have not yet aligned ventrally; e, f – post-dividers, showing the threedimensional macronuclear reticulum (e) that breaks into many nodules (f). B(1–3) – dorsal brush (rows), BA – oral basket, BU – oral bulge, CK – circumoral kinety,F – oral bulge fibres, MA – macronucleus,MI – micronuclei.(Without scale bars because from ± squashed specimens.)";
