ID these two foraging critters

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Bschnitzer
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 6:57 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

ID these two foraging critters

#1 Post by Bschnitzer » Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:37 pm

Platyhelminthes?

These two guys are about 150μ long. Whiskers at the mouth.

Thanks in advance.

Bob
B0C5E0C4-88D1-4563-B12E-FF8B448258A4.jpeg
B0C5E0C4-88D1-4563-B12E-FF8B448258A4.jpeg (87.94 KiB) Viewed 1387 times
1. Olympus BH2 BHTU trinocular w/DPlan objectives, Risingcam 20mp 1” USB
2. Motic SMZ 168 Stereo w/Nikon 1 V1
3. Extreme macro rig Nikon D500/PB6 bellows/10x CFI Achr/Raynox DCR150/Wemacro Rail

Bruce Taylor
Posts: 986
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 11:34 am

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#2 Post by Bruce Taylor » Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:45 pm

They are ciliates....probably hypotrichs. Do you have any brightfield images? Dark field often does not show the features needed for ciliate identification.

Bschnitzer
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 6:57 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#3 Post by Bschnitzer » Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:03 pm

Alas, no bright field on this one, Bruce. I only noticed longitudinal body striations and short sub anterior cilia scooping up food. Moved like a flatworm. They never rested, so it was difficult to get a sharp photograph.
1. Olympus BH2 BHTU trinocular w/DPlan objectives, Risingcam 20mp 1” USB
2. Motic SMZ 168 Stereo w/Nikon 1 V1
3. Extreme macro rig Nikon D500/PB6 bellows/10x CFI Achr/Raynox DCR150/Wemacro Rail

Bschnitzer
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 6:57 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#4 Post by Bschnitzer » Wed Feb 01, 2023 10:46 pm

I am processing a bright field video and will post later. This superb Charles Krebs image is the best match I can find. Certainly Hypotrich. Thanks again, Bruce.
9E1C6DDA-3CA2-456C-B40C-A9F536E0259C.jpeg
9E1C6DDA-3CA2-456C-B40C-A9F536E0259C.jpeg (198.82 KiB) Viewed 1347 times
1. Olympus BH2 BHTU trinocular w/DPlan objectives, Risingcam 20mp 1” USB
2. Motic SMZ 168 Stereo w/Nikon 1 V1
3. Extreme macro rig Nikon D500/PB6 bellows/10x CFI Achr/Raynox DCR150/Wemacro Rail

Bschnitzer
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 6:57 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#5 Post by Bschnitzer » Thu Feb 02, 2023 1:46 am

Here is a bright field image at 100x and cropped to about 200x:
8EAA9B10-5B67-4313-96F7-1C02E7ECE57B.jpeg
8EAA9B10-5B67-4313-96F7-1C02E7ECE57B.jpeg (108.43 KiB) Viewed 1338 times

Original higher resolution image:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H8ILMU ... sp=sharing

Here is the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xAi6rr ... sp=sharing
1. Olympus BH2 BHTU trinocular w/DPlan objectives, Risingcam 20mp 1” USB
2. Motic SMZ 168 Stereo w/Nikon 1 V1
3. Extreme macro rig Nikon D500/PB6 bellows/10x CFI Achr/Raynox DCR150/Wemacro Rail

Javier
Posts: 806
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 11:19 am
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#6 Post by Javier » Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:45 am

That is an Hypotrich for sure.

Bruce Taylor
Posts: 986
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 11:34 am

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#7 Post by Bruce Taylor » Thu Feb 02, 2023 10:06 pm

Yes, a hypotrich. To identify it below subclass, we'd need to see the distribution of cirri on the ventral surface. It resembles Urostyla, but there are other possibilities.

Bschnitzer
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon May 16, 2022 6:57 pm
Location: Northern Virginia

Re: ID these two foraging critters

#8 Post by Bschnitzer » Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:02 am

Bruce,

Re: ventral cilia distribution, are you referring to the amphisiellid median cirral row and adoral zone of membranelle cilia only, or other cilia groupings along the ventral side? If I run across these guys again, I’ll pay more attention to that area, though I don’t think my setup will be up to the task, photo resolution-wise. Thanks again for the help.
1. Olympus BH2 BHTU trinocular w/DPlan objectives, Risingcam 20mp 1” USB
2. Motic SMZ 168 Stereo w/Nikon 1 V1
3. Extreme macro rig Nikon D500/PB6 bellows/10x CFI Achr/Raynox DCR150/Wemacro Rail

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