Reconciling morphological and molecular classification of predatory ciliates: Evolutionary taxonomy of dileptids (Ciliophora, Litostomatea, Rhynchostomatia).

The order Dileptida is a small group of predatory ciliates characterized by a proboscis serving for prey capture. Although monophyly of the order is strongly supported, generic relationships between dileptid taxa were left mostly unresolved in 18S rRNA gene phylogenies. To overcome this problem, we applied the synergistic effect of combining multiple molecular markers with morphological data.

An annotated and revised checklist of pleurostome ciliates (Protista: Ciliophora: Litostomatea) from Slovakia, Central Europe.

Pleurostomatids are predatory ciliates, living especially in the periphyton and benthos of various freshwater and marine habitats. In the present work, we provide an annotated and revised checklist of this ciliate group from the territory of Slovakia. Altogether 29 pleurostome species belonging to five genera have been reported there: Acineria incurvata, Ac.