This ciliate has a very long and narrow neck with a mouth at the bent tip. Twisting its body allows it to move through the narrow openings of aggregates. When it changes directions, its thin body flutters like a ribbon in the wind.
Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University This organism belongs to the genus Litonotus which includes numerous species.
Without identifying cell size and the number of macronuclei, etc.,
it is difficult to determine what species it is.
This ciliate is about 150 microns and has a slender body that tapers at both ends. The whole body is soft and flat when viewed from the side. The organism actively twists the front of its body (which resembles a bottle-neck), to slip through the narrow spaces between aggregates.
Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University This ciliate belongs to genus Litonotus. Three genera of ciliates, Litonotus, Loxophyllum and Amphileptus have a flat and spindle-shaped body with a cytostome at one side of the cell. Litonotus is characterized by a thin rim projecting from the side of the cell with the cytostome. Loxophyllum is characterized by a similar rim extending from both sides of the cell. Amphileptus, however,does not have any rim-like outer margin on either side of the cell. After eating, the organism in this video is too fat for us to see clearly inside the cytoplasm. Although Litonotus usually has two macronuclei, here only one macronucleus can be seen. Therefore it is difficult to identify it at the species level.
