A flagellate from a paddy field

After being collected from a paddy field, the sample was put on 1% agar plate with a drop of distilled water and kept in the dark for 4 days.

A flagellate with a long flagellum is slowly moving around among aggregates. If it weren’t moving, we might be fooled into thinking it is just another aggregate, because its whole surface is covered with small particles. Is this appearance designed to disguise itself from enemies?

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism is Peranemopsis granulifera in the Euglena group. It is characterized by one flagellum and a unique cell surface that is almost wholly covered with sandy particles. The cell of this organism is flexible (similar to Peranema), and when the cell changes shape as it moves around, the sandy particle cover also stretches to adapt to the cell’s flexing.

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

Sampling Date : 22 September 2006

Sampling Site : KASHIMADAI paddy field  Google Map