organism with really long tether

[Lilly Begonia]

I just now came upon this in pond water, another truly groovy discovery, something I've never seen before. I got the best shots of it I could on the fly. It was moving out with it's coiled tether, uncoiling it as it moved outward, and it looks like sort of bell going out to feed, then coil it's line back up really fast, in like a millisecond and retreats to where it's anchored. It goes out on it's tether, makes a wide sweep of the water with cilia swirling things into it's mouth, then recoils it's tether, jets back out and does it again. Pretty neat! I have to say this was the find of the day.

[McConkey]

Awesome pictures!! Those guys are always fun to watch!! I love seeing them retract back at lightening speed and slowly open up again!!

I believe they are vorticella!

[Lilly Begonia]

Awesome pictures!! Those guys are always fun to watch!! I love seeing them retract back at lightening speed and slowly open up again!!

I believe they are vorticella!

Vorticella, okay! Thank you for that! Whatever they are they are really cool organisms. I've had great fun watching them. I never imagined anything like them before I stumbled onto them. A microscope is so much better than TV! You cannot flow-chart the plot in the first 3 minutes! You can be surprised at any moment with something you could never have imagined!

Here are more of them!

[Bruce Taylor]

Yes, a vorticellid (either Vorticella or Pseudovorticella).

[einman]

Here is a video I made of them a few years back:

[Lilly Begonia]

Here is a video I made of them a few years back:

WOW!!! that's a LOT of them!

[einman]

Yes it was. Bruce commented the same to me as he has to you! They are amazing little creatures.

[Jonnyvine]

Wow, nice