Checklist and distribution of ciliates from the family Euplotidae Ehrenberg, 1838 (Protista: Ciliophora: Spirotrichea) in Slovakia, Central Europe.

A checklist of ciliates from the family Euplotidae recorded in the territory of Slovakia, Central Europe was assembled. Altogether, 11 species belonging to three genera of the family Euplotidae have been reported there: Euplotes alatus, Euplotes charon, Euplotes moebiusi, Euplotoides aediculatus, Euplotoides eurystomus, Euplotoides patella, Euplotoides woodruffi, Euplotopsis affinis, Euplotopsis finki, Euplotopsis muscicola, and Euplotopsis novemcarinata. However, records of the marine species E. alatus and E. charon are doubtful and very likely represent misidentifications of E. moebiusi. Since the euryhaline species E. woodruffi was found for the first time in Slovakia, its morphology is described. Based on the literature data and our own observations, the present checklist is also accompanied with distribution data on the 11 aforementioned species. As concerns ecology, Slovak euplotids typically occurred in freshwater bodies having higher trophic levels. Only two species, E. finki and E. muscicola, were isolated from terrestrial habitats, especially, from mosses, leaf-litter, and decaying wood mass.