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Redescription of Lagenophrys cochinensis Santhakumari & Gopalan, 1980 (Ciliophora, Peritrichia, Lagenophryidae), an Ectosymbiont of Marine Isopods, Including New Information on Morphology, Geographic Distribution, and Intraspecific Variation

ABSTRACT. Lagenophrys cochinensis is a peritrich ciliate originally reported as an ectocommensal of the wood‐boring isopods Sphaeroma terebrans, Sphaeroma triste, and Sphaeroma annandalei and the tanaidacean Apseudes chilkensis in estuaries of southern India. In the present study, it was found to occur also on Sphaeroma quoyanum, Sphaeroma walkeri, and Exosphaeroma planulum. New material was used to make permanent preparations, allowing a comprehensive description of the morphology of L. cochinensis for the first time. The macronucleus of L. cochinensis was found to have an elongate shape that spans the width of the cell body, unlike the compact macronucleus originally described. In addition, the loricae of all samples examined were subcircular or shorter than wide, not longer than wide as originally described. Polykinetid 3 of the infundibular infraciliature consisted of three rows of kinetosomes, only the third species of Lagenophrys found to have more than two rows in polykinetid 3 so far. Samples of L. cochinensis on S. quoyanum from New Zealand and California appeared to represent a population distinct from others. The species has a cosmopolitan distribution, probably owing to the ease with which its hosts are transported from one estuary to another in drifting wood or on hulls of ships.