Crawling on a particle surface

This small ciliate uses its cilia like arms and legs to crawl along the surface of a particle, probably to look for food. It has a long projection at the rear end of its body.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism belongs to genus Dysteria.

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

Like Nassula, it has a cylindrical mouth. It is characterized by a unique caudal (rear) protrusion called a podite, which is composed of a bundle of cilia. This organism is most likely Dysteria calkinsi.

Sampling Date : 27 May 2009

Sampling Site : Hirose River A  Google Map