A compilation of soil and moss ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Germany, with new records and descriptions of new and insufficiently known species

Summary This review compiles and analyses the taxonomic and biogeographical information available on soil ciliates from Germany. At least 270 species have been reliably recorded from 20 sites and site groups; 52 are new records from 13 sites studied for the purpose of this paper. At least 14 new species were discovered, of which three are described: Dileptus armatus nov. spec, Holostichides dumonti nov. spec, and Hemisincirra gellerti verrucosa nov. sspec; four species are redescribed: Pleuroplites australis, Enchelys geleii nov. comb, (basionym: Lagynophrya geleii Foissner, 1981), Plagiocampa ovata , and Haplocaulus terrenus . Of the 643 soil ciliate species known worldwide, almost half occur in Germany because the area is comparatively well-investigated and most soil ciliates are still undescribed. Thus, local diversity can not be used for estimating global diversity.