ciliate Mesodinium

jc maccagno · Post by **jc maccagno** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:48 pm

pond water 40X

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:28 am

Even though I don't have a lens stronger than 40x at present, I am really interested in the small, [and fast] little bugs I see, but can never find identification for. Do you know of any source online that might list them?

I think I may have seen something like this guy, just recently.

René · Post by **René** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:58 am

Hi Mitch, if I can give some suggestions, because I know myself only recently how overwhelming the ciliate field is.

Kahl still has considerable authority, and even without german knowledge you can flick through the drawings. His magnum opus can be found at http://ameba.i.hosei.ac.jp/DB/DIB/Kahl/index.html Warning: it is enormous in size.

Kahl did start a revision, just before and during WWII, but it was subsequently lost and only part has been recently found back. It is downloadable for free as a supplement of Acta Protozoologica at http://www1.nencki.gov.pl/pdf/ap/ap812_supplement.pdf
This critter is in there. For an amateur, Kahl is a good way to start, his drawings are very much to the point! Now for the german language...

Corliss came next with a thorough revision when ultrastructural details became available in the 1960's. The figure tables can be found on a german site http://www.peritrich.de/Ciliata/index.htm , see the link Abbildungstafeln. Those give a good oversight over the whole of the ciliate cosm.
Latest major revision is done by Denis Lynn, which include phylogenetical data. But that sort of work is really out of touch with amateur practice. Details about that newer classification can also be found on that german site.

Good luck, René

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:59 am

'Free-living Freshwater Protozoa -- A Colour Guide' by D. J. Patterson, ISBN 978-1-874545-40-8 is pretty useful as a place to start, with a good key, though not comprehensive down to species level of course.

'The Sphagnum Ponds of Simmelried in Germany: A Biodiversity Hot-Spot for Microscopic Organisms'. Protozoological Monographs, by M. Kreutz & W. Foissner is also very good and should be available to download from the web.

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:22 am

Great links Rene. Good for a rainy day. I have bookmarked and downloaded the PDF.

Dave, books aren't in my budget right now, I need to much hardware to spend money on anything else.

René · Post by **René** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:13 am

Hi Mitch, Dave's suggestion of the Simmelried book is a great start on freshwater stuff, truly highest standard, I would recommend it to anyone interested in pondlife! The book is even cheaper then the print price, it is heavily subsidized. But when you really want to save up , there's no reason not to get the pdf. That costs next to nothing, couple of euros. Outstanding stuff!

Rene