A few pond creatures
A few pond creatures
Just a few creatures that showed up in pond samples last fall. IDs are tentative - any corrections welcome.
Cheers, David
Technical: DIC, Nikon camera controlled with Capture One, high-speed flash
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1. Strobilidium sp. - sometimes very common; often attached to the substrate by an almost invisible strand; generate a huge feeding current .
2. Mallomonas sp. - seem to be different arrangements of the spines on different individuals .
3. Synura sp. surrounded by red Trachelomonas sp. - the Synura form colony balls that roll around; Trachelomonas can occur in HUGE numbers and are a food for many predators. .
4. Looks like something with a big red eye and a long schnoz; in reality, it's a predator (maybe some sort of hypotrich?) that ate a Trachelomonas; I think the mouth is at the hairy end. .
Cheers, David
Technical: DIC, Nikon camera controlled with Capture One, high-speed flash
________________________________________________________________
.
1. Strobilidium sp. - sometimes very common; often attached to the substrate by an almost invisible strand; generate a huge feeding current .
2. Mallomonas sp. - seem to be different arrangements of the spines on different individuals .
3. Synura sp. surrounded by red Trachelomonas sp. - the Synura form colony balls that roll around; Trachelomonas can occur in HUGE numbers and are a food for many predators. .
4. Looks like something with a big red eye and a long schnoz; in reality, it's a predator (maybe some sort of hypotrich?) that ate a Trachelomonas; I think the mouth is at the hairy end. .
Last edited by ddy5 on Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A few pond creatures
Nice imaging. The colors help tell the stories and make the IDs.
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Re: A few pond creatures
Great images!
Re: A few pond creatures
Really nice photos! Could you provide more details about your microscope?
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Re: A few pond creatures
Beautiful images!
The first one is Strobilidium caudatum ("Strombilidium" is a fairly common misspelling, because of the similar-looking genus Strombidium).
The Trachelomonas-eater is indeed a hypotrich...or part of one, at least (it might be a damaged cell, or half of a recent divider)
The first one is Strobilidium caudatum ("Strombilidium" is a fairly common misspelling, because of the similar-looking genus Strombidium).
The Trachelomonas-eater is indeed a hypotrich...or part of one, at least (it might be a damaged cell, or half of a recent divider)
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Re: A few pond creatures
Looks like all that tinkering with the lighting has really paid off!
(How big is that stuff, anyway?)
(How big is that stuff, anyway?)
Re: A few pond creatures
Thank you all for your kind words. To answer the questions:
- the microscope is a Nikon 80i. There was a thread a while back on flash setups that has some photos (https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 28&t=17325).
- sorry, I forgot the scale bars.
the Strobilidium is 40µm wide;
the Mallomonas body length is 52 µm (the flagellum is about the same length as the body);
Trachelomonas are 17-20 µm in diameter;
the Synura ball is 120-125 µm in diameter;
the red-eye predator is about 115 µm wide.
Cheers, David
- the microscope is a Nikon 80i. There was a thread a while back on flash setups that has some photos (https://www.microbehunter.com/microscop ... 28&t=17325).
- sorry, I forgot the scale bars.
the Strobilidium is 40µm wide;
the Mallomonas body length is 52 µm (the flagellum is about the same length as the body);
Trachelomonas are 17-20 µm in diameter;
the Synura ball is 120-125 µm in diameter;
the red-eye predator is about 115 µm wide.
Cheers, David