A monster... of one kind or another

[NachoBen]

This organism appeared a few days ago in a sample from the banks of a reservoir. Since I did not see any more similar individuals, I assumed that it could be a mutant individual of Paramecium bursaria, a frequent (but not abundant) species lately. However, looking at the video more closely I now think that it may be a deformed specimen of Bryometopus viridis. This species has been relatively abundant in nearby places in the last month. Here you are the video:




What do you think? THank you very much.

[Bruce Taylor]

Was it found in moss? The mouth (or what's left of the mouth!) seems to be apical, so P. bursaria is not a candidate. B. viridis is a pretty good guess, but a lot of ciliate species have symbiotic algae, so it is far from certain. Your best hope of identification is to look for intact specimens in the same sample water.

[NachoBen]

No moss, just plant debris blown by the wind and some aquatic vegetation. In fact, I searched the sample intensively, but no similar individuals appeared, only some P. bursaria (but no Bryometopus).

I will try and take new samples from the same place as soon as possible. Thanks, Bruce!