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Yesterday while searching through a specimen jar of pond water I came across a few stentors within loricas. The macronucleaus appears to be long and worm like and in one video stretches nearly as far as the foot so I'm thinking Stentor roeselii.

Stentor in lorica

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100X - https://www.flickr.com/photos/154534235 ... ateposted/
200X - https://www.flickr.com/photos/154534235 ... ateposted/

Stenor out of lorica best views of worm like macronucleaus

100X - https://www.flickr.com/photos/154534235 ... ateposted/
200X - https://www.flickr.com/photos/154534235 ... ateposted/

Thanks for looking

Excellent images! What is a lorica?

A lorica is a gelatinous tube that the stentor builds from detritus and excreted matter. Not all stentors make these and even if one does, it can vacate it at anytime.

Nice! Looks like he's been working on that tube for a while.

Thanks

I wonder how long it takes to build one, and is there a video anywhere on the web that shows a stentor building one, like a timelapse.

Lorica is the name of the armor worn by soldiers in medieval times. Interesting.

Yes I read that the other day, I think it is roman soldiers.

The videos are really cool!! Nice quality images and cool to see Stentor roeselii in a lorica.

How these lorica/cases are made is interesting:

"Some stentors form cases and are still more sedentary. Jennings (1902) described how roeseli seemed to explore the substratum with its anterior end and when a likely spot was found the tail bent over and attached. Then mucous was secreted over the posterior half of the body while the animal moved backward and forward on its side for about two minutes as it secreted an elongated cylinder. The tube was later compacted somewhat by subsequent contractions of the stentor." (page 7 of The Biology of Stentor by Vance Tartar)

Isn't nature amazing.

I was wondering how they could make a lorica and now it makes sense, I can actually imagine the stentor making one now.

Thanks

Just reading this old post. There are a lot of tube swelling stentors in my pond water aquarium. I believe this short video shows the early stages of tube construction, with detritus sticking to a mucous coating.

Al the lorica photos are gone. I'm sure you know.