A few pond creatures

[dy5]

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; 40 µm wide

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2. Mallomonas sp. - seem to be different arrangements of the spines on different individuals; 52 µm body length (flagellum is about the same length as the body)

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3. Synura sp. surrounded by red Trachelomonas sp. - the flagellated Synura form colony balls that roll around; Trachelomonas is actually an euglenid, and they have an eyespot. They can occur in HUGE numbers and are a favorite food for all the predators; Trachelomonas is 18-20 µm in diameter; Synura ball is about 125 µm in diameter

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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; about 115 µm wide

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[Ramos Kenneth D]

Those are really neat. I used to sit and watch things like this for hours.

[Sumguy01]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing