Three new species of ciliated protozoa from the hindgut of both white and black wild African rhinoceroses

Abstract

This report deals with the effect of the mode of feeding of the hindgut-fermenting herbivorous rhinoceros on the species of Protozoa fermenting the ingesta, as demonstrated by the proposed three new species of ciliated Protozoa: Didesmis synciliata differing from D. ovalis in having syncilia in place of simple cilia, Blepharoconus dicerotos being twice the size of B. cervicalis, and Blepharosphaera ceratotherii being one third the size of B. intestinalis. The findings are in line with the biological tenet that in herbivores the composition of the diet is the major factor determining the composition of the digestive organisms.