Out of curiosity, how much do you estimate it cost to prepare the specimen you showed us? I expect it must be very expensive in terms of the chemicals and gases used, not to mention the cost of the SEM.

that was absolutely fascinating. I have often wondered how specimens were prepared for use in SEM. Thanks for sharing that info.

If you have a monitor with a HDMI input you can connect the 7000 to the monitor as there is an HDMI socket under the flap on the side opposite the SD card door. Make sure that you get the correct cable as the HDMI connection on the 7000 is smaller than the HDMI connector on most screens. I had to bu...

Great shot. I thought it was a Venus Fly Trap at first.

What 'scope did you use? It has produced some nice DIC images.

I'm not sure if it comes across in the video but it looked to me as if it was completely covered in cilia. Would that fit with it being a Pentrich? Hopefully it wasn't stressed for too long as I always try to return the specimens back to the pond after observing them. I know it sounds daft but I rea...

There were literally dozens of these little critters of various sizes but they all looked very similar in shape. Do you think this was a natural activity or could it have been stressed by being under a coverslip. I often wonder if the surface tension around the edge of the coverslip has an effect on...

What looks like the worlds smallest Space Hopper seems to have something going on towards the end where it either is splitting or being attacked. Have a look at the video here on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/ajqbJj8nges

Any ideas?

Actually I was just picking Quadrullela as that was the nearest shape that I had a picture of. I was seeing so may of these what appeared to be empty shells that I was not sure if they were actually amoeba or something else. I couldn't understand why they were all empty, but it would appear that it ...

Ferry, that is what I was thinking when I asked the question. I couldn't take a picture at the time as I was using my Wild M40 and I had lent my camera adapter to a friend so I couldn't take a picture, but they did look like the classic testate amoeba. They were sort of amphora shaped with what look...

How did I miss the link to Ferry's site in your original post Bruce :oops: It's quite an amazing site for amoeba information. Being a bit of a noob here it is sometimes difficult to tell what it is that you are seeing under the scope. I wanted to be sure that what I was seeing was in fact the test o...

I have just stumbled upon this site which seems to be a very comprehensive guide to amoeba.
http://www.arcella.nl

Thanks Charles for the link to http://user.xmission.com/~psneeley/Personal/FwrPLA.htm We have a new possibility in Difflugia acuminata or Difflugia bacillifera. So do the amoeba outgrow them or actually just die and leave the shell empty then. I counted about 16 empty tests and not a single one with...

Sorry, what I meant was that the things that I am seeing are just Quadrulella Symmetrica shaped. I have the excellent "Protozoological Monographs" by Martin Kreutz and Wilhelm Foissner and Quadrulella Symmetrica was the closest thing in there to what I was seeing in the 'scope. I wonder why I have s...

I have been scanning the water from my pond and I am seeing a lot of what I think are similar to Quadrulella Symmetrica in that they have a test which is made up of fragments of stone/quartz etc. and are of a roughly vase-shape. What puzzles me is that they all appear to be empty as there re no sign...