MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

I would like to become proficient in identifying different micro organisms.I have a fairly Basic Understanding about a Lot of it. But i'm curious if Yall know of any resources one Could use To Start Learning about how to figure out what kind of organisms I'm looking. To give you a picture of the problem I am having, I am trying to navigate the taxonomic ranking system(tree of life I suppose) on Wikipedia. I got into phylums and thought I would check out amoebazoa, then I learned this isn't just amoebas.. there are some slime molds here too? And then I learned there are amoebas not even contained in amoebazoa(I geuss this has to do with evolutionary ancestors). So it's become quite overwhelming and confusing.

I'm quickly learning biology is so incredibly complex and so diverse that it kind of spins my head around.

Maybe you might know some kind of book or resource I could obtain that just talks about different types of protists and other micro organisms. That would be a good place to start.
I found a PDF on Google however I noticed that a lot of the of the species contained in this resource (which was originally in german) either doesn't exist Anywhere else online or have been renamed.

I don't want to have to post everything I find under my microscope and flood the "identification help" forum.

I hope I wasn't too long winded. Thanks for all the help! I love this community I have found.

Here is a classic to get you started.

* https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=BC ... 76E1131E36

I've often struggled with IDs as well. To make it more confusing, names and taxonomic relationships sometimes change as new research comes out. A few sources that I've found helpful:

1. A free monograph recently discussed here https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 15&t=17517

2. Two websites on amoeba: https://arcella.nl and http://penard.de/Introduction/

3. A paper you can probably get from the same website listed for 1. above:
A user-friendly guide to the ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) commonly used by hydrobiologists as bioindicators in rivers, lakes, and waste waters, with notes on their ecology
WILHELM FOISSNER AND HELMUT BERGER

4. A book by D.J. Patterson has helpful drawings and photos for more common forms. Currently expensive to buy new, but you might find used copies. https://www.amazon.com/Free-Living-Fres ... 5405&psc=1

Protozoology by Richard Kudo is an easily available and very useful tome.
First published in the 30's and I think it was revised up until the 60's. A lot of it is still relavent despite changes in taxonomy over the years and it has great illustrations and habitat information. Almost 700 pages. It is remarkable how that work was accomplished at that time. Hey, how could he? He didn't have DiC!

Here is a nice digitized version.
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL7640357W/Protozoology

Wow thanks so much for the resources! I'll be digging into these soon