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

This review compiles and analyses the taxonomic and biogeographical informa tion available on soil ciliates from Germany. At least 270 species have bee n 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 wer e discovered, of which three are described: Dileptus armatus nov. spec., Ho lostichides dumonti nov. spec., and Hemisincirra gellerti verrucosa nov. ss pec.; four species are redescribed: Pleuroplites australis, Enchelys geleii nov. comb. (basionym: Lagynophrya geleii Foissner, 1981), Plagiocampa ovat a, and Haplocaulus terrenus. Of the 643 soil ciliate species known worldwid e, almost half occur in Germany because the area is comparatively well-inve stigated and most soil ciliates are still undescribed. Thus, local a divers ity can not be used for estimating global diversity.