Gastronautidae Deroux, 1994 and Trithigmostoma Jankowski, 1967: Evolutionary Links Among Cyrtophorian Ciliates (Protista, Ciliophora, and Phyllopharyngea)

Studies on cyrtophorian ciliates (Cyrtophoria) have accumulated much knowledge on morphological taxonomy and molecular phylogeny, and the general classification and phylogenetic relationships of most families have thereby been revealed. However, the phylogenetic position of the family Gastronautidae Deroux, 1994 remains uncertain. This is due to the presence of specialized characteristics (in particular a circumoral kinety in a closed circle), and most importantly, the lack of molecular data of this family. In addition, Trithigmostoma Jankowski, 1967 holds a special position among genera in Chilodonellidae Deroux, 1976 due to its divergent characteristics. In the present work, we studied a new gastronautid, Gastronauta paraloisi sp. n., and three populations of Trithigmostoma cucullulus ( Müller, 1786 ) Jankowski, 1967 , using integrative methods. Species identifications were confirmed by morphological research. We also obtained SSU rDNA sequences, which included the first available sequence of Gastronautidae. The following SSU rDNA-inferred phylogenetic analyses showed that the establishment of the family Gastronautidae is necessary, and Gastronautidae and Trithigmostoma may represent intermediate evolutionary links in the order Chlamydodontida.