A while back, there was a brief discussion about whether an amoeba could detect a potential meal from a distance, i.e., without touching it. Here is another observation that suggests at least some amoebae may be able to do it:
I was photographing the pretty gold amoeba (a flamellid?) when a large, dark, spindly amoeba appeared some distance away. (The white, spikey blob is a hypotrich ciliate out of focus.)
The intruder was moving past, but then made a right-angle turn and went toward the flamellid.
The intruder then ripped its prey apart and devoured it. Brutal.
This all happened quite quickly, at least in amoeba-time: the killing commenced less than a minute after the intruder appeared. The black blobs in the photo are rough body outlines of the attacker.
Although the intruder did appear to 'sense' a meal nearby, it still isn't definitive. Both species had very long pseudopodia, and it's possible that they touched somewhere out of the plane of focus.
Cheers, David
Amoeba attack
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
-
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2022 7:18 pm
- Location: North Carolina
Re: Amoeba attack
Could it be possible that it is picking up on chemical signals from its prey?