Trachelius, details

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 2:55 pm

Looking through a large sample dish I found quite a few large colonies of (what I believe is) Carchesium. It was interesting to see that in several instances there were more than one Trachelius cruising around inside these colonies. After seeing this on a variety of occasions on different days is seemed obvious this was where they preferred to "feed".

I separated some and took a few "typical" shots. There was one specimen that presented me with a view I had not seen before, and that I think must be the oral cavity. I took some surface shots with the 60/1.40 to get a better look at that region.

vasselle · Post by **vasselle** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:01 pm

Bonjour
Superbes photos
Cordialement seb

Jacek · Post by **Jacek** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 1:34 am

Super !
Mouth like a whale

Ernst Hippe · Post by **Ernst Hippe** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:04 am

Charles,
phantastic - thank you!!

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 5:05 am

Spectacular! A wonderfully detailed exploration of a weird critter.

Mouth like a whale

That big cavity in the middle of the cell is not the mouth. It's an organelle called the "fossa". Nobody knows what it's for.

The mouth is quite small, but visible in the second image, at the base of the proboscis.

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:28 am

Very very very nice!!!!!

zzffnn · Post by **zzffnn** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 12:34 pm

Amazing capture, thank you for sharing!

fpelectronica · Post by **fpelectronica** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 1:15 pm

Very nice

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:55 pm

Thanks for the comments!

Bruce... thanks for the information on the fossa. I wasn't aware of this feature even though I have observed Trachelius ovum before.
Not much about it that I can find, but it appears to be a determining characteristic for this species:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... 1/#bib0040

Order Tracheliida. This order contains a single species, Trachelius ovum, which is defined by three apomorphies: (i) a club-shaped internal oral basket; (ii) a lateral fossa with specialized ciliature; and (iii) many scattered contractile vacuoles.

I'm usually hesitant to name a protozoan down to the species level... but we can certainly see the "fossa" and the "many scattered contractile vacuoles" in the last three photos... Trachelius ovum

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:49 pm

Charlie,

Wow, amazing set!

Rogelio

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:08 pm

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Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:09 pm

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Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:09 pm

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Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:13 pm

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Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:14 pm

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