A peanut-shaped ciliate

The shape of this ciliate reminds us of a peanut shell. We can see cirri at the front and rear ends of its slender body. To catch food, it repeats an erratic pattern of going forward, stopping, and changing directions. When it makes contact with a food particle, its flexible mouth wraps around the prey to consume it.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
Here we can see an Amphisiella with 5 transverse cirri at its rear end.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

When it takes in food, the back of the body swells; but when not feeding, the front and rear are approximately the same size.

Sampling Date : 18 October 2009

Sampling Site : Hirose River A  Google Map