The oxytrichid ciliate Architricha indica nov. gen., nov. sp., isolated from the river Yamuna, Delhi, shows a new combination of characters. It possesses a flexible body, 18 frontal-ventral-transverse (FVT) cirri, 3 right and 2 left marginal cirral rows, 6 dorsal bristle rows and 3 caudal cirri (CC). The FVT cirri arise from 6 primordia, which utilize 6 parental cirri in their origin as is typical of Oxytricha species. Multiple marginal rows (MMR) develop through 5 independent marginal primordia arising "within-row", 1 in each parental marginal row. All the 5 marginal rows are thus morphogenetically active. Such a mode of formation of MMR has not been recorded among oxytrichids and has necessitated separation of A. indica at the generic level. Histriculus, on the other hand, has well-known characteristics, viz. rigid body, confluent marginal rows and absence of CC. The morphogenesis of Histriculus histrio has been described by Berger and Foissner [1997. Cladistic relationships and generic characterization of oxytrichid hypotrichs (Protozoa, Ciliophora). Arch. Protistenkd. 148, 125-155]. Reinvestigation of very early stages of development revealed that (i) the FVT cirral primordia utilize kinetosomes from 5 parental FVT cirri, (ii) the primordium II of the proter is of a composite origin: kinetosomes from the oral primordium merge with the primordium II that originates from the buccal cirrus II/2 and (iii) the FVT primordia V and VI for the 2 daughter cells arise sequentially from the parental cirrus V/4. Thus, the genus Histriculus exhibits a new combination of characters with respect to the origin of FVT cirri, an additional pattern to be added to the known 6 patterns of FVT development in oxytrichids [Berger and Foissner, 1997; Berger, H., 1999. Monograph of the Oxytrichidae (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London].