A couple new ciliates... for me, anyway

[Charles Krebs]

I was traveling in the NE corner of Washington (Trying to get to Upper Priest Lake in Idaho via a Forest Service road) but got dead-ended because there was still too much snow on the road. So before turning back I got out and collected a couple samples of moss from a rock face that had a steady, rapid stream of snow melt trickling down over it. It is always surprising to me the number of ciliates that can be found in such conditions. These two specimens looked unlike any I have previously seen, so I thought I would post them here and see if anyone has suggestions as to an ID.

[Wolfgang Bettighofer]

Hi Charles,

very interesting observation! Nassulidae specimen, I presume, perhaps genus Microthorax or Pseudomicrothorax. Wilhelm Foissner wrote in "Identification and Ecology of Limnic Plankton Ciliates" page 692:
Nassulids are common in the benthal of fresshwaterthe small microthoracines are also rather frequent in soil... Typically, nassulids feed on filamentous cyanobacteria, which change their color during digestion, so that this ciliates are usually colorful.

In order to identify precisely we should have shots of the oral apparatus, the hypostomal ciliary band and so on. Perhaps you've got some more shots?!

It's very interesting to watch them feeding Oscillatoria filaments. They "inhalate" them like spaghetties. Later filaments are shreddered by lysosomes.

Cheers, Wolfgang

[Charles Krebs]

Wolfgang,
Nassula is what I was thinking too... Wim and Piotr had posted a few shots of them back on the old forum and these looked similar. Unfortunately I only grabbed a few quick shots and don't really have anything more detailed.

[bernhardinho]

Wolfgang,
Nassula is what I was thinking too... Wim and Piotr had posted a few shots of them back on the old forum and these looked similar. Unfortunately I only grabbed a few quick shots and don't really have anything more detailed.

Hang on, Charles. Wolfgang was referring to the family Nassulidae which comprises lots of genuses and species. It does not necessarily mean Nassula!


Bernhard

[Charles Krebs]

Bernhard... yes, that is true. I should have spent more time with the specimen and tried to get more helpful details. The only other clue I have would be size, which was about 180x130 microns, fairly large (about the right size for Obertrumia aurea). But we'll just leave it as "unidentified".