Looking for an ID for this ciliate

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billporter1456
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Looking for an ID for this ciliate

Post by billporter1456 »

When I saw this organism, I was thinking it had to be Lacrymaria olor. No mistaking that little "head/mouth" region. And some of the movements were typical of the Lacrymaria olor I have seen again and again in my samples. But the Amoeba-like movement you can see at several points in the video didn't look like any of the Lacrymaria I have seen. As someone on another forum remarked, it looks like an amoeba doing a very credible impersonation of a lacrymaria.

https://youtu.be/eXKcmtFE-Cs

billporter1456
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Post by billporter1456 »

I am thinking that there was not enough detail in the video to allow for a definitive identification. Bruce Taylor said he thought it was,""some kind of haptorid." The Micscape contributor on protists, Richard Howey, said, "I'm afraid I won't be much help on this one; it's is indeed an odd organism."

So I think it will just have to remain one of those odd but unidentified organisms that we run across from time to time. I was pleased to find that I wasn't the only one who found it to be an "odd organism!"

Donw
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ID

Post by Donw »

Hey Bill:
See if you can get Ferry to look at this. He is the 'go to' guy for amoebas and the like...

Is your video playing back at normal speed? Your critter seems awfully fast for an amoeba.

Interesting is the word alright.

When I see something like this, I always have to wonder if this is the first time...

billporter1456
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Re: ID

Post by billporter1456 »

Donw wrote:Hey Bill:
See if you can get Ferry to look at this. He is the 'go to' guy for amoebas and the like...

Is your video playing back at normal speed? Your critter seems awfully fast for an amoeba.

Interesting is the word alright.

When I see something like this, I always have to wonder if this is the first time...
The reason Amoebae seemed to be ruled out is the presence of cilia around the "head/mouth" region. The video is playing at normal speed so again, an Amoeba doesn't seem likely. The first moment or two of observing the critter, it reminded me of Lacrymaria because of the head/mouth, but when I say it moving with that amoeba-like motion, it sure didn't look like Lacrymaria anymore. And I never saw it, or a similar one nearby, ever extend a neck the way Lacrymaria do. Thanks for chiming in!

bernhardinho
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Post by bernhardinho »

Hi

I don´t reckon hairlike structures in amoaba uroids unusual at all. To me this is an amoeba and it is its motion that gives it away.


Kind regards

Bernhard

billporter1456
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Post by billporter1456 »

bernhardinho wrote:Hi

I don´t reckon hairlike structures in amoaba uroids unusual at all. To me this is an amoeba and it is its motion that gives it away.


Kind regards

Bernhard
Hi Bernhard,

Thanks for your suggestion. The hairlike structures in the video seem to be moving in a cilia-like manner. Do villi on uroids ever move like that? Also, the direction of movement of the organism, if that is a uroid, usually has the uroid end taking the lead. Is that possible in an Amoeba? Thanks in advance for your further comments.

billporter1456
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I guess we can rule out an Amoeba

Post by billporter1456 »

Ferry, our resident Amoeba expert just sent me an email regarding this little critter. He said, "It’s a ciliate, for sure, but I’m not specialized in that taxon. Anyway, it’s not an amoeba!"

Oh well, it's still on my list of "unknowns."

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