flatworm: catenula lemnae

[nanometer]

Ran across this flatworm and took a few pics.

20x DIC



40x DIC



again at 40x. There were several of these vacuole-looking things. I found an article that labelled it as 'st' but didn't define 'st'. Another paper on flatworms defines 'st' as stachel, but the definition of that is a nail-like prick which doesn't seem like this structure.

[Smokedaddy]

... those turned out nice Steve.

[nanometer]

Thanks James. Water life is so amazing!

[WalterD]

Many interesting details. Thanks for sharing.

[marvia911]

There were several of these vacuole-looking things. I found an article that labelled it as 'st' but didn't define 'st'. Another paper on flatworms defines 'st' as stachel, but the definition of that is a nail-like prick which doesn't seem like this structure.

"st" stands for statocyst - a sensoric organ that aid in orientation and balance during swimming. It is a characteristic organ for Catenula species.

[nanometer]

"st" stands for statocyst - a sensoric organ that aid in orientation and balance during swimming. It is a characteristic organ for Catenula species.

Hi Marvia911. Thanks so much for answering this question. I'll definitely read up on this. For now, it looks like a little bubble level It's interesting that there are several of these throughout the body. I imagine it might help them figure out if they are twisted too.