Black Shelled Testate Amoebae

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Mitch640
Posts: 2137
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:43 pm

Black Shelled Testate Amoebae

Post by Mitch640 »

I wonder, is there any reason for the black shell? Are they a particular breed, or is it something in the water? All of them seem to be dead, but then, there are the orange ones and the white golfball kind too, and they are all dead. Just wondering. Can't seem to find anything on Google about them.

Image

Franz Neidl
Posts: 747
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:59 am
Location: Italy

Post by Franz Neidl »

Hello Mitch,

I like very much your picture and your interesting question.
The colour could come from the progressive deposition of iron and manganese compounds. Young Arcellae are rather yellowisch. According to Wilfried Schönborn, Beschalte Amöben (Testaceae), Wittenberg, 1966, p.18 the brown colour is coming from iron and the violet colour from manganese.
Maybe in your case it is the manganese...

Franz

Mitch640
Posts: 2137
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:43 pm

Post by Mitch640 »

Thanks Franz. From the same jar of water, three weeks ago, I was getting only the orange arcella and saw no black ones. Now, there are more black ones, and a few dead orange ones. So I just wondered if it was the orange ones that changed, or these are new amoebae showing up, although, it's the same water. These shells look a little different shape to, less ball shape and more donut shape. I just don't know enough about arcella. :)

NikonUser
Posts: 2693
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 am
Location: southern New Brunswick, Canada

Post by NikonUser »

Hey Mitch I really thought your beast was a mushroom :roll:

However, when trying to work out what my recent images were I found an image of your testate amoeba and it has a name
Arcella hemisphaerica.

Yours is a very nice 3-dimensional view; perfect DOF

Take a look at the fantastic images on this page:
HERE

scroll down.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

Mitch640
Posts: 2137
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:43 pm

Post by Mitch640 »

Thanks for the ID NU. I must have searched Google for an hour with no luck. These Black shells just started showing up in the last week or so, so I wasn't sure what they were.

Unfortunately, you can't reach in there and turn the subject around for a different view, but I did manage a number of other shots with slightly different lighting. I haven't managed to get a decent stack of anything yet. I was trying for that 3D look. :)

Image

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