A tiny fluttering organism

After being collected from a paddy field, the sample was put on 1% agar plate with a drop of distilled water and kept for four days. This tiny organism is continually flutters as it moves around. It is too small for us to see whether it has a flagellum or not.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism is smaller than 20μm long and we cannot determine whether it is a flagellate or a ciliate. The resolution of the video is too low for us to confirm its exact shape, though its manner of swimming suggests that it uses a flagellum for locomotion.

Sampling Date : 17 November 2006

Sampling Site : KASHIMADAI paddy field  Google Map