Morphology of Indian populations of Coleps elongatus (Ehrenberg, 1830) Kahl, 1930 and C. amphacanthus Ehrenberg, 1833 (Ciliophora: Prostomatea: Prorodontida)

The present study reports the morphology of two population each of free-living colepid ciliate Coleps elongatus (Ehrenberg, 1830) Kahl, 1930 and C. amphacanthus Ehrenberg, 1833. The populations of C. elongatus were isolated from the protected area (Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary) of West Bengal and a small natural pond (Senhati Jheel) in Kolkata. The populations of C. amphacanthus were isolated from the two natural ponds in Kolkata. Both species are new records to Indian fauna. Brief description based on the live observations, silver stained preparations, and 18S rDNA sequence is presented.