A very large ciliate

Olympusman · Post by **Olympusman** » Tue Jul 15, 2014 9:41 am

Possibly a Stentor coeruleus. About 2mm long. It has contracted somewhat due to the Cupric acetate added to the water drop. In the first shot I left in the amoeba test to give a scale indication.

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 7:53 am

It's not S. coeruleus, which has bluish pigment granules & no symbiotic algae. Are you sure it's a ciiate? Its internal structures are hidden by algae, but the membranes have a "squashed flatworm" look, to me.

_Michal_ · Post by **_Michal_** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:55 am

Very nice photos!

vasselle · Post by **vasselle** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:06 pm

Superbe

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:10 pm

Very pretty photos!
With them it is not possible to know what organism is it

Protos · Post by **Protos** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 1:48 am

aestetically nice but biologically not recognizable

Cactusdave · Post by **Cactusdave** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:06 am

Nice picture. Pretty certain it's a flat worm looking rather unhappy.

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:41 am

Nice pictures.

Rogelio

Olympusman · Post by **Olympusman** » Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:25 pm

The body was outlined in very fine cilia and there were currents around the narrow left end that suggested filter feeding.

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 5:55 am

Olympusman wrote:The body was outlined in very fine cilia and there were currents around the narrow left end that suggested filter feeding.

Microturbellarians are covered with cilia, which can create some confusion. I can't point to any anatomical features, but the "gestalt" looks wormy, to me.

Protos · Post by **Protos** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:07 am

Why did you add Cupric acetate ?

Olympusman · Post by **Olympusman** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:20 am

Cupric acetate is a very effective chemical to slow down (stun) and eventually kill water organisms for photography. Because its action is slow, it allows the organisms to be captured as they expire before they contract their extremities. I use a saturated solution applying one drop of Cupric acetate to one drop of pond water. I stir the solution with a teasing needle on the slide before applying the cover slip.

A very large ciliate

A very large ciliate

Ciliate

Re: Ciliate

Cupric acetate