I found this beautiful Rotifer today and he was showing what I think is his mouth, which is usually placed between the Corona and inside the body. Those red spots are usually labeled as eyespots, but I'm not sure if they are eyespots indeed. Does anyone know what this apparatus is and how it works?
Video details:
200 x dark field. Amscope b120 and iPhone 5s.
TIA for your help!
Rotifer's mouth?
Re: Rotifer's mouth?
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I would go with eyes, see highlighted text and link to original article:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/12bnrkbmmxtbz ... s.pdf?dl=0
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I would go with eyes, see highlighted text and link to original article:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/12bnrkbmmxtbz ... s.pdf?dl=0
.
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- eyes-on-rostrum.jpg (122.35 KiB) Viewed 1209 times
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
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Michael Müller
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 11:29 am
- Location: Germany
Re: Rotifer's mouth?
Hi Javier,
the anatomy of bdelloid rotifers is very complicated. As I'm not sure, what structure you address as "mouth", I attached a figure from an great old book by Donner:
Josef Donner, Rädertiere, Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung W. Keller & Co., Stuttgart 1978
Unfortunately the text is in German, so I try to translate/explain it.
On the left side is a sketch of a bdelloid rotifer while it is creeping. The corona (kr) is folded into the mouth of the animal and the mouth (mu) is closed by the upper lip (ol) and the lower lip (ul). In the front of the animal is the rostrum (r), in your case the structure with the eyespots. The next three figures show the animal with unfolded corona. When the mouth is opened, the wheeling organs unfold out of the mouth and the corona is formed. The rostrum is compressed to an broad bump on the back of the animal. The mouth then is a funnel-like ciliated structure, which transports the collected food into the animal to the mastax with its hard jaws (k).
The red spots are indeed eyespots - light sensitive organs. They do not produce any image, but detect the intensity and - as there are two spots - the direction of the light.
There are very few persons worldwide, who mastered the art of species-diagnosis for bdelloid rotifers and I do not belong to this exclusive club. But the most common genus with two eyespots in the rostrum is Rotaria. So chances are good, that your little friend belongs to this genus.
Best regard
Michael
the anatomy of bdelloid rotifers is very complicated. As I'm not sure, what structure you address as "mouth", I attached a figure from an great old book by Donner:
Josef Donner, Rädertiere, Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung W. Keller & Co., Stuttgart 1978
Unfortunately the text is in German, so I try to translate/explain it.
On the left side is a sketch of a bdelloid rotifer while it is creeping. The corona (kr) is folded into the mouth of the animal and the mouth (mu) is closed by the upper lip (ol) and the lower lip (ul). In the front of the animal is the rostrum (r), in your case the structure with the eyespots. The next three figures show the animal with unfolded corona. When the mouth is opened, the wheeling organs unfold out of the mouth and the corona is formed. The rostrum is compressed to an broad bump on the back of the animal. The mouth then is a funnel-like ciliated structure, which transports the collected food into the animal to the mastax with its hard jaws (k).
The red spots are indeed eyespots - light sensitive organs. They do not produce any image, but detect the intensity and - as there are two spots - the direction of the light.
There are very few persons worldwide, who mastered the art of species-diagnosis for bdelloid rotifers and I do not belong to this exclusive club. But the most common genus with two eyespots in the rostrum is Rotaria. So chances are good, that your little friend belongs to this genus.
Best regard
Michael
- Attachments
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- Bdelloidae.jpg (144.68 KiB) Viewed 1209 times
Leitz Ortholux II
Re: Rotifer's mouth?
Thank you very much, 75RR and Michael.
The information given was very helpful. Sorry if my question was kind of unspecific. The folding or retractable structure I was referring to was the rostrum, holding the eyespots. When I saw it yesterday, I remembered this amazing video by James Weiss:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIj7ZTeKvku/
The information given was very helpful. Sorry if my question was kind of unspecific. The folding or retractable structure I was referring to was the rostrum, holding the eyespots. When I saw it yesterday, I remembered this amazing video by James Weiss:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIj7ZTeKvku/