Amoeba... finally!

[Javier]

Finally, after a year and a half since I first observed through a microscope, I was lucky enough to find a nice, big Amoeba. I have found many little amoebas in the past, but they were not a good target to my limited equipment. It was a very nice experience to observe it, particularly on dark field. I would appreciate some help with the ID of this specimen.

Video details:

Amscope a120 and iPhone 5s. Dark field at 100 and 200x. Bright field at 400 x.

[Francisco]

Very nice.

[Harold]

Outstanding video!!

[75RR]

.
Nice! Looks big enough to be amoeba proteus

Shape and single large nucleus also in its favor.

https://www.arcella.nl/amoeba-proteus/

[Wes]

Great catch and footage.

[Javier]

Many thanks Francisco, Harold, 75RR and Wes for your feedback.

Thank you also 75RR for that interesting link. It looks indeed like an Amoeba Proteus. I'm glad I was able to record both the polypodial and monopodial locomotion. It called my attention but I didn't know they were named differently.

[Wes]

How did you actually find it? I don't think I've ever seen Amoeba proteus in the wild.

[Javier]

How did you actually find it? I don't think I've ever seen Amoeba proteus in the wild.

I have been taking samples from a little puddle that forms on a lawn of an Island when the river floods it. This Island is part of the Delta del Tigre, an extensive group of sediment Islands surrounded by rivers. It is 30 minutes from Buenos Aires and a beautiful place to visit.

The puddle has no more than 0.5 mts x 2 mts at most, maybe 5 cm deep, and very often gets dry. Nevertheless, I have found Amoebas, Blepharismas, Epistylis, Vorticellas, Ophryoglena, Copepods, Flat worms, Loxodes, Dileptus, Paramecium, Hyportichs, Coleps, several species of Rotifers, many algae and diatoms, and a lot of specimen that I can't remember. It's pretty amazing. I will take a photo to share the next time I visit that place.

[Chainsaw_DNA]

Nicely done! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

[hb2sbdb]

Great video! Thank you for sharing.
Totally agree that these things look mesmerizing when viewing in dark field...
Are you using simple dark field stops that do not work well for 400x?

[Javier]

Thank you guys!

Great video! Thank you for sharing.
Totally agree that these things look mesmerizing when viewing in dark field...
Are you using simple dark field stops that do not work well for 400x?

Exactly. I'm using a homemade filter. It works great for 40 x and 100 x, quite well for 200 x (after some minor condenser adjustments) and it doesn't work for 400x at all.