Genus ASPIDISCA Ehr. 1830.
(Perty '52; Cl & Lach. '58; Stein '59; Quennerstedt '65, '67, '69;
Mereschowsky '79; Kent '81; Bütschli '88.)
Small, colorless, and rigid forms, with nearly circular to oval contour. The left side is usually straight, or at least but slightly convex. The right side is much more convex, and the right margin is considerably thickened. The ventral side is flat, the dorsal surface convex, with from one to several longitudinal ridges which run more or less parallel with the right edge. The peristome is limited to the left edge, where it forms a small depression which may or may not reach the anterior border, but which in no case runs around the anterior margin. The left peristome margin in some cases grows over the peristome depression toward the right, thus making a sort of cover for the peristome. In the posterior region is a deep depression, from which 5 to 12 cirri take their origin. Seven or 8 cirri are placed in the anterior half of the ventral surface and are arranged more or less in rows. The anus is on the right side in the region of the anal cirri (Stein). The contractile vacuole is generally on the right side and similarly located. The macronucleus is a horseshoe-shaped body. Movement rapid, somewhat in circles, and rather uniform.
Fresh and salt water.
Aspidisca hexeris Quennerstedt '67. Fig. 56.
The carapace is elliptical, about 1-1/2 times as long as broad, rounded at the extremities. The left border of the carapace bears a spur-like projection. The ventral cirri are short and thick, and are very characteristic of the species. When moving slowly they look much like nicely-pointed paint brushes, but when the animal is compressed they quickly become fibrillated, and then look like extremely old and worn brushes. These cirri are placed in depressions in the ventral surface and each one appears to come from a specific shoulder. At the posterior end an oblique hollow bears 6 unequal cirri placed side by side. The extreme right cirrus is the largest, and they become progressively smaller to the opposite end. Dorsal to these lies the contractile vacuole. The peristome is in the posterior half of the body and an undulating membrane extends from it into the œsophagus. The dorsal surface is longitudinally striated by 5 or 6 lines, which are usually curved. The nucleus is horseshoe-shaped and lies in the posterior half of the body. Length 68µ; diameter 48µ.
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Fig. 56.— Aspidisca hexeris. [ ENLARGE ] |
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This form was incorrectly mentioned as Mesodinium sp. by Peck '95:
In the figure given by Quennerstedt there are only 7 ventral cirri. In the Woods Hole form there are 8, 7 of which are anterior, 6 of them about one central one. The eighth cirrus is by itself, near the base of the largest posterior cirrus. These cirri, in spite of their size, are easily overlooked and more easily confused, but by using methylene blue they can be seen and counted.
Aspidisca polystyla Stein. Fig. 57.
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Fig. 57.— Aspidisca polystyla. [ ENLARGE ] |
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This species is similar to [A. hexeris], but is smaller, very transparent, and without the spur-like process on the left edge of the carapace. The chief difference, however, lies in the number of anal cirri. These are 10 in number and they are arranged obliquely as in the preceding species, with the largest one on the right and the smallest on the left. The ventral cirri are 8 in number, and are arranged in two rows, one of which, the right, has 4 cirri closely arranged, the other having 3 cirri close together and one at some distance, near the largest anal cirrus. The peristome, contractile vacuole, and nucleus are similar to the preceding. Length 36µ; width 22µ.
Stein assigns only 7 ventral cirri to this species, but he also describes 2 very fine bristle like cilia (p. 125) and pictures them in figs. 18, 19, 20, and 21 of his Taf. III in the same relative position as my eighth cirrus. I am positive that cilia do not occur on the ventral face of this form, and that the characteristic cirri are the sole locomotor organs.
| Key to families of Peritrichida. | ||
| a. | Peristome drawn out into funnel-like process; parasitic | Family Spirochonidæ |
| b. | Adoral zone and circlet of cilia at opposite end. Adoral zone left-wound. Parasitic. | Family Lichnophoridæ (one genus, *[Lichnophora)] |
| c. | Adoral zone a left-wound spiral. Attached or unattached forms. | Family [Vorticellidæ] |
| * Presence at Woods Hole indicated by asterisk. | ||