Synura collapsing at the air-water interface

A colony of brown flagellates, Synura, rolls slowly along the surface of particles or quickly rotates in open water. When it reaches the outer boundary of water and encounters air, it must stop. Here, some contents of the colony are gradually discharged. The flagella of each flagellate stop waving as the whole colony shrinks and finally collapses with the flagellates floating apart.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
To identify the Synura species, an electron microscope is necessary to observe the cell's scale-like surface pattern.

Therefore, it is difficult to determine the species using an optical microscope.

Sampling Date : 18 October 2009

Sampling Site : Hirose River A  Google Map