Big ciliate!

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:09 am

Hi ,
i post some pics and a video of a giant in the microscopic world...do you now genera??
obb. 16x PH and DIC illumination and Flash
best
arturo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdH15ESU6MU

Jacek · Post by **Jacek** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:17 am

excellent video quality and beautiful pictures

Baley · Post by **Baley** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:23 am

I second that! remarkable clarity in the video. It reminds me of a dog sniffing around in the yard. Curious to know what it is.

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:26 am

That's a wonderfully clean-looking video.

It's a Haptorian, of course...but of what order? The constriction in the front is a bit deceptive, at first, but it seems to be a Pleurostomatid, not a Spathidiid. The mouth slit seems to continue beyond the narrowing (as we see at 1:38 in the video). There is no terminal vacuole, and a row of small dorsal vacuoles, and the posterior is pointed. Unfortunately, I can't make out the macronuclei, clearly, and there are only brief glimpses of body cilia (I keep reaching for an imaginary focus knob!

). We don't see a flattened area lined with ventral trichocysts, so probably not Loxophyllum. It is harder to rule out other Litonotids, although it has more of an Amphileptid look, to me. That is as far as I can go, I'm afraid. I hope someone else can do better!

Is the coverslip weighing down on this fellow? He seems a bit bulgy...

emsiem · Post by **emsiem** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:28 am

I enjoyed so much watching this video :-) Nice! Thank you!

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:50 am

..many thanks to all for comments!

Bruce: it may be an Homalozoon vermiculare?
best
arturo

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:19 am

arturoag75 wrote:..many thanks to all for comments!

Bruce: it may be an Homalozoon vermiculare?
best
arturo

It's one of the Haptorians I considered, but I ruled it out because I don't see the characteristic fan-shaped oral structures, and there is no sign of the usual pharyngeal mass. Also, as I mentioned, the mouth is not entirely apical...it seems to continue "around the corner," into the vicinity of the neck. Finally, if it were Homalozoon, we'd expect to see at least a few beads of its very conspicuous macronucleus.

For comparison, here is a brief video, pointing out some features of Homalozoon vermiculare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a9PPBFM8YM

Here is another Homalozoon (possibly the more gracile H. flexile), showing the typical mouth structure, and the characteristic "keel" that runs down the middle of the creature:

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

naturephoto1 · Post by **naturephoto1** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:54 am

Arturo,

Excellent video and still images.

Rich

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:59 am

Big, slow, fat and with this nose...it must be a manatee, not a protozoan

Excellent pictures andvideo as usual!

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:28 am

Bruce Taylor wrote:
arturoag75 wrote:..many thanks to all for comments!

Bruce: it may be an Homalozoon vermiculare?
best
arturo
It's one of the Haptorians I considered, but I ruled it out because I don't see the characteristic fan-shaped oral structures, and there is no sign of the usual pharyngeal mass. Also, as I mentioned, the mouth is not entirely apical...it seems to continue "around the corner," into the vicinity of the neck. Finally, if it were Homalozoon, we'd expect to see at least a few beads of its very conspicuous macronucleus.

For comparison, here is a brief video, pointing out some features of Homalozoon vermiculare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a9PPBFM8YM

Here is another Homalozoon (possibly the more gracile H. flexile), showing the typical mouth structure, and the characteristic "keel" that runs down the middle of the creature:

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

Many thanks for explanation...unfortunately DIC don't show me nuclei, but if i find another one, i try to make some pics!
arturo

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:29 am

RIch ,Pau,
many thanks for comments
Arturo