Hypotrichous ciliates are a major group of the spirotrichs. At present they are very likely the best-studied group of ciliates, besides the typical model organisms Paramecium and Tetrahymena. The present project concerns the fourth and fifth parts of the Monograph of the Hypotricha. Three parts are already published, namely the Oxytrichidae (Berger 1999, Monographiae Biol. 78: 1092 pages, without financial support), the Urostyloidea (Berger 2006, Monographiae Biol. 85: 1319 pages; FWF-Project 14778), and the Amphisiellidae and Trachelostylidae (Berger 2008, Monographiae Biol., 88: 753 pages; supported by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, APART Project). Part four (Kahliellidae, Gonostomatidae, Keronopsidae; Berger 2010, Monographiae Biol., about 800 pages; FWF-20569-B17) is in preparation.
Volume 5 of the Monograph of the Hypotricha will contain about the half of the genera which are not treated in volumes 1 to 4, inter alia, the complicated genus Uroleptus. Previously, Uroleptus has been assigned to the urostylids because of the zigzagging ventral cirri. However, morphological and molecular biological data showed, that this classification was based on a convergence. The remaining pages of part 5, which will comprise about 500 printed pages, will be filled with small higher taxa and mainly monotypical genera. The last part (volume 6) of the series will contain, inter alia, a key to all species.
The present project comprises the following points:
The critical revision of the available data comprises the major part of the project. The experience of the author (many publications about hypotrichous and other ciliates, inter alia, 14 books with more than 8000 printed pages) and comprehensive preliminary works (e.g., indexation of more than 6000 papers about hypotrichs to species level; making of a permanently updated index to all names of hypotrichs at www.protozoology.com; making of a bibliography) simplify, respectively, are prerequisite to write such a comprehensive book series.
Additional investigations (morphology; cell division; phylogenetic analyses; molecular biological analyses in cooperation with the Schlegel-group, University of Leipzig) on some species.
The monograph of the Hypotricha (in total about 5000 pages) is not only an important reference book for specialists, but also a detailed source of information for biologists of other disciplines (e.g., ecology, molecular biology, physiology). Practitioners, for example, in the water quality management, need not waste a lot of time to search for the many individual papers which are distributed in many journals from throughout the world.
The Monograph is written in English and therefore usable for everyone worldwide. It is published by Springer in the book series Monographiae Biologiace.

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