Ciliophrys azurina Patterson, 2001
Diagnosis: Ciliophrys with tapering arms; nucleus large, prominent, with a central nucleolus and additional peripheral heterochromatin. Radiating arms with extrusomes. The single cilium is held in front of swimming cells, and in non-swimming (feeding) cells the cilium is held tightly curled, typically in a double figure of 8.
Dimensions: cells about 15 µm in diameter.
Ecology: Marine, Australia. Observed consuming diatoms.
Remarks: Ciliophrys azurina can be distinguished from the other well described species in the genus, C. infusionum, by being considerably larger (15 µm vs 5 µm, although C. infusionum has been reported as up to 20 µm long). More importantly, C. azurina can also be distinguished because the cilium is longer and held in a double figure of 8, because the arms taper from base to tip, and because of the existence of peripheral clumps of heterochromatin in the nuclei.