Colepidae is a family of

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

s comprising the genera ''

Coleps ''Coleps'' is a genus of ciliates in the class Prostomatea with barrel-shaped bodies surrounded by regularly arranged plates composed of calcium carbonate. Description Species of ''Coleps'' can grow up to 250 μm in length, but are usua ...

, Plagiopogon'' and '' Tiarina.'' The family was named by

Christian Ehrenberg Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (19 April 1795 – 27 June 1876) was a German naturalist, zoologist, botanist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopist. He is considered to be one of the most famous and productive scientists of his time. ...

as ''Colepina'' in 1838, with the latin description: ''Animalia polygastrica, enterodela (tubo intestinali distincto instructa), oris anique aperturis in corporis axi longitudinali oppositis, terminalibus (enantiodreta), et lorica involuta. (= Enchelia loricata.)'' In a free translation, he described ''Colepina'' as "polygastric animals, with a distinct intestinal tube, mouth and anus openings on the longitudinal axis of the body opposite each other, terminal (enantiodromic), and with an enveloped lorica."

References

* Key species of the family Colepidae (Prostomatida, Ciliophora) from Lake Baikal. LA Obolkina, Zoologichesky Zhurnal, 1995

External links

* Intramacronucleata Ciliate families Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg {{ciliate-stub