Chonotricha

Chonotricha

 

a subclass of protozoans of the class Infusoria. The organisms are solitary, sessile marine and freshwater infusorians that live as external commensals of higher crustaceans. They exhibit marked specificity for certain species of hosts. They have a complex preoral hood. The preoral ciliature consists of several rows of cilia that go down inside the hood to the mouth opening, bending clockwise. There are no cilia on the body.

The Chonotricha reproduce asexually, by means of external or internal budding. The young larvae have well-developed ciliature. The protozoans also reproduce sexually, by means of conjugation.

REFERENCE

Iankovskii, A. V. Podklass Chonotricha. Leningrad, 1973. (Fauna SSSR: Novaia seriia, vol. 2, no. 1.)

IU. I. POLIANSKII