found this in my recent pond dipping.
Top: full frame
Bottom: 21 second sequence, left to right, top to bottom; showing collection funnel.
These guys can suck in a lot of water very quickly, cleaned up most of the small 'animacules' in the cavity slide.
BHS, 4x D Plan + 2.5x NFK eyepiece, no condenser, diffused flash.
NUM10064
NUM10065
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
Good question Mitch.
These animals are colonial. I don't know if they are genetically identical.
This colony was about 1/2 inch long attached to a piece of something very fibrous (reed or cigarette filter tip!). There were about 4 individuals in this colony.
The 1st image shows 2, the lower one with very long tentacles.
I doubt if 1 individual could live by itself but also the death of 1 individual would probably not have much, if any effect, on the colony.
Forgive my vagueness, took me a while to work out what it was; I had heard the name Bryozoa, but had never seen any,
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
The reason I wondered, in the first one there seems to be three black spots. Eyes? But I couldn't see three funnels. Maybe the third has it's tentacles wrapped around the long one, like the Kracken tentacles on the ship in old drawings. LOL
Definitely not eyes.
from Wikipedia:
"Individuals in bryozoan (ectoproct) colonies are called zooids, since they are not fully-independent animals
All colonies contain autozooids, which are responsible for feeding and excretion." LOT MORE INFO HERE
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
