portrait, gliding

Description:

Metromonas (met-row-moan-ass) is a predator. Usually attached to the substrate by the curving posterior end of the longer flagellum (see, there is also a short one in most cells). They nod backwards and forwards. In cultures they usually appear in large numbers after the small bacterivorous flagellates - evidently preying upon them. Prey are ingested after encountering the margins of the cell. Unhappy cells tend to migrate by gliding along the substrate, with the flagellum no longer coiled but trailing behind the cells. Phase contrast