This is a distinctive ciliate. I think I have an identification because I found a SEM of this specimen in Lynn’s “The Ciliated Protozoa,” Third Edition, that appears to be an exact match to the specimen I observe. I am also using the vocabulary to describe morphology, mostly compiled by Corliss, found in Chapter 2, but only when I can find a match to the same features on the specimen.
https://youtu.be/A4fJvqWP7KA
https://youtu.be/1J4sqbdwoKo
I think that this specimen belongs to Subphylum INTRAMACRONUCLEATA. Unsurprisingly, in one of the videos you can see a distinctive macronucleus. The Class is PROSTOMATEA. From the Gk., this means “before mouth.” The mouth (formally, cytostome) usually appears in an apical or sub-apical position. In this specimen you can see that the mouth is in the apical position with circumoral ciliature. The next descending taxon is Coleps.
This class was once considered ancestral but is now considered derived. One of its features is radial symmetry (observed here).
Other features:
There appears to be a longitudinal ciliary girdle. Locomotion is by lateral rotation. By its behavior it seems to be engulfing bacteria via its circumoral ciliature, at its apical end, which is the receiving end of water ingress. I may also see some multiple caudal cilia.
Have you seen this organism? (Probably a dumb question). I’d appreciate your additions and subtractions.
Distinctive Ciliate: Probable Identification?
Distinctive Ciliate: Probable Identification?
Nikon AlphaPhot 2 < Zeiss Primostar 3, Full Köhler; Axiocam 208 Color < UHD LG
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Re: Distinctive Ciliate: Probable Identification?
Do you know the taxon for Coleps?
Nikon AlphaPhot 2 < Zeiss Primostar 3, Full Köhler; Axiocam 208 Color < UHD LG
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Re: Distinctive Ciliate: Probable Identification?
This is in the family Colepidae, but is not necessarily Coleps. The historic genus has been split (Nolandia, Pinacocoleps, Levicoleps, etc.), and we can't reliably identify this to genus without having a very close view of the calcified armour that surrounds the cell. See: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18460156/ and https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 009-0317-0 and other recent work.