Actually I can only assume that these are Colpidium because I did not take time to chase them down and find one still long enough to count the rows of cilia extending from the base of the mouth. Copidium belongs to the Family Tetrahymenidae and can be confused with, or so it seems according to Jahns (pg. 232-233, Fig. 418), T. patula and T. pyriformis. The only way to distinguish between the three is to count the rows of cilia extending from the base of the mouth, T. patula having five rows, T. pyriformis two, and Colpidium having only one row.
Colpidium
Canon A570IS
First image 1/400sec. @ f/2.8 ISO 80
Second image 1/160 sec. @ f/2.8 ISO 80
Zeiss Axiostar Plus 10X/0.25 and 40X/0.65 CP Achromats, respectively
Colpidium, a bunch...
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Nice! I especially like #2 where we can see the critters changing shape when they bump into and flow around each other.
Or at least, that's what I see. I wonder what somebody would see in these still pictures, if they had never watched the critters in motion?
(What a sad thought -- that someone might never have watched pond scum in motion! )
--Rik
Or at least, that's what I see. I wonder what somebody would see in these still pictures, if they had never watched the critters in motion?
(What a sad thought -- that someone might never have watched pond scum in motion! )
--Rik