Description of Glaucomides bromelicola n. gen., n. sp. (Ciliophora, Tetrahymenida), a macrostome forming inhabitant of bromeliads (Bromeliaceae), including redescriptions of Glaucoma scintillans and G. reniformis.

Glaucomides bromelicola n. gen., n. sp. is a tetrahymenid ciliate common in tank bromeliads of Central and South America. The new genus is characterized by having a kinety fragment along the left mouth margin, an unciliated dorsolateral area, a tetrahymenid silverline pattern, and the ability to produce macrostomes when bacterial food is depleted. I provide a detailed description of the microstome and the macrostome morph, using several morphological methods. This showed that G. bromelicola does not belong to the Glaucomidae, but to the Bromeliophryidae. However, various morphological traits are highly similar to those of Glaucoma reniformis and G. scintillans, which are thus redescribed and compared with G. bromelicola. Most differences are inconspicuous, showing that new tetrahymenids must be described very carefully. The morphological and molecular data suggest a common ancestor for Glaucoma and Glaucomides, both performing their own radiation, the former in ordinary limnetic habitats, the latter in tank bromeliads.