Mayorella bigemma ? Could Someone Verify

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:13 pm

I seem to have an outbreak of Mayorella bigemma in my aquarium, if that's what they really are. I didn't go to any particular trouble to collect these, just lifted the lid and skimmed my watchglass over the surface. In the first pipette, I got a good selection of these amoeba that kept me busy for awhile.

I used a Nikon 40x Plan Achromat PH3 DL lens over a Nikon Fluophot Phase Condenser on the Nikon Fluophot scope. [It's nice to have all the parts, finally].

Processing was done in CS5. It's cropped a bit and I cleaned up the background. The colors are what I get from the Phase Condenser. Not sure where the nice blue comes from, cause I can not see it after I set final focus. Once it is in focus, I flip a mirror and trip the shutter and flash with the mouse. No filters in the light path, other than the IR stuff built into the Fluophot. Sharpening is done using USM, 0.45, 0.3, and 0.0 to one or two of the color channels, usually the red and sometimes the green, and that's about it.

I did get video, but it's too late to process it tonight. I will add the link tomorrow.

1. Amoeba engulfing a small ciliate. The amoeba is only about 25µm.

2. The ciliate has been engulfed. The video shows more of the process of digestion. It only took about 8 minutes for the ciliate to be digested.

3. A second Amoeba. Is the black spot in these three images the nucleus?

4. The second Amoeba as the slide dries up. They form a smooth round ball at the end.

5. A third Amoeba.

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 11:58 am

Mitch,

Nice set, it is good to see that you are using your phase setup.

Rogelio

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:28 pm

Thanks Rogelio. It's thanks to you that I found the phase lenses, and before that the phase condenser. This really completes the microscope setup. I do not think it is capable of DIC.

I hope to find a manual for it, to know if I am doing anything wrong. I contacted Nikon, but they just sent me another Fluophot manual.

Here is the video. It just finished uploading;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozwVlIRIpbY

jc maccagno · Post by **jc maccagno** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:17 pm

Hello Mitch

nice pictures What magnification ?

John

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 3:00 am

Nice, in special n3 where the pseudopoda are clearly imaged.

Mitch640 wrote:.... I do not think it is capable of DIC.

I hope to find a manual for it, to know if I am doing anything wrong. ..

Capable I think it may be, but to find the parts for a not very common model will be very difficult supposing that they were made.

Nothing wrong, phase is not difficult with the adequate parts and your images are typical of this technique.

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:48 am

John, this is a really small amoeba, as amoebas go. I used a Nikon 40x Plan Achromat PH3 DL objective, Nikon 2.5 projector lens and the Canon T1i.

Thanks Pau. Yes, I meant to say that I do not think Nikon made DIC parts for this scope. Every dovetail and fitting on this scope is a different size than any other Nikon scope made. Nothing from other scope models will fit it, I have tried. The scope itself is about twice the size of an Olympus BH-2.

Ferry · Post by **Ferry** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:05 pm

Hi Mitch,

It is a very small Mayorella, probably M. vespertilioides or M. penardi or an unknown species. M. bigemma is much larger, 100-300 um long. Your Mayorella has the double (bi-gemma) crystals which are so typical for some larger Mayorella species.

Ferry

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:32 pm

Thanks for the information Ferry. Very interesting about the double crystals. I did not notice them before, but they are quite obvious when you know to look for them.