Unknown ciliate for ID please

jc maccagno · Post by **jc maccagno** » Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:31 am

Pond water 400X Olympus

Bruce Taylor · Post by **Bruce Taylor** » Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:51 am

Hmm. Was there only one of these, or a population? That very lush ciliary ring appears to be made up of polykinetids. If it was one of a kind, my first suspicions would be that it is a piece of a damaged and contracted Stentor. If there were others in the same water, I would start looking for something more exotic (like Cyclotrichium, or something else).

jc maccagno · Post by **jc maccagno** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:07 am

Hello Bruce,

Thanks for the information. I initially thought that this ciliate might be Askenasia. It was solitary in this water sample and I have not encountered one like it since. It appeared to swim rapidly in an orderly fashion while retaining its circular form. I never considered the possibility that it might be a portion of a damaged Stentor.

Thanks for your viewing and your comments.

John