2006Botanical Garden in Aobayama2006 II

Soils from the L, H, and A layers were sampled from the Tohoku University Botanical Garden in Sendai. This is a video of an organism taken from the L layer on the soil surface, where there are freshly fallen leaves in their original shape and other organic debris. At first organisms could not be found in the newly collected soil, so the samples (including water) were left for one month and then observed. (The video is shown at 50 times the original speed, and focus was adjusted as needed.)

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism seems at first to be a testate amoeba, but since the outline of the cytoplasm inside the shell is not clear, it may already be dead. The round-shape at the center may be either a living nucleus or only its trace.

There appears to be a narrow opening on the right edge of the shell, and if it is indeed an opening, this organism could be a testate filose amoeba. However, we cannot be sure without confirming that it has a filopodium extending through the opening.

Sampling Date : 06 December 2006

Sampling Site : Tohoku University Botanical Garden in Aobayama  Google Map