Nuevo experimento podría confirmar el quinto estado
de la materia en el universo
If I were a rotifer, this is what heaven would look like!
This micro animal is enjoying a never-ending algae supply from the massive bloom surrounding it. The algae are called haematococcus, and they contain a high concentration of the pigment Astaxanthin — which gives them their red complexion.
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Beautiful video by @my.microscopic.world
Follow 👉 @natures for more!
This micro animal is enjoying a never-ending algae supply from the massive bloom surrounding it. The algae are called haematococcus, and they contain a high concentration of the pigment Astaxanthin — which gives them their red complexion.
⠀
Beautiful video by @my.microscopic.world
Follow 👉 @natures for more!
An amoeba
The term amoeba refers to a very diverse group of organisms that can extend their cytoplasm. That way they create false feet or "pseudopodia" to catch prey and to move.
This one is probably the amoeba Chaos. A fitting name to a polypodial amoeba, which means it can extend its cytoplasm in multiple directions and if it wants to move it just "decides" for one and moves the whole body forward. Others just do it in one particular direction. They are called Monopodial amoebas.
I’ve got LOTS of smol beans snacking on bacteria and chilling on an air bubble for you today 🥰
They’re called Glaucoma and are part of a ciliate group named the Hymenostomes, which includes Tetrahymena and Colpidium. If you look (very) closely, you can see they have a mouth that looks like lips that are flapping! They have three small ciliary membranes that helps them bringing water and bacteria to their mouth by beating together. Not only they feed on suspended bacteria but they can also graze on bacterial biofilms settled on a surface. I realized they were Glaucoma after looking at my videos afterwards so I now need to take a closer look at that flapping mouth 👀
Glaucoma can feed on a variety of different bacteria and they divide pretty fast; it takes them 4 hours to double their population 😳 they probably were very very happy I added some almond milk in the sample jar to promote bacterial growth 👀 Although, some species of Glaucoma can become big enough to eat their smaller Glaucoma friends 🙃
Unlike some of its relatives, like the ciliate Ophryoglena which I’ll show you very soon, that can be parasitic, Glaucoma is free-living! They mostly live in ponds and lakes and aren’t dangerous for humans at all 😊
References:
Foissner, W., & Berger, H. (1996). A user‐friendly guide to the ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) commonly used by hydrobiologists as bioindicators in rivers, lakes, and waste waters, with notes on their ecology. Freshwater biology, 35(2), 375-482.
H., Lynn, Denis (2008). The ciliated protozoa : characterization, classification, and guide to the literature. New York: Springer. 23.
Nisbet, B. (2012). Nutrition and feeding strategies in protozoa. Springer Science & Business Media.