portrait

Description:

In vivo portrait of Pithothorax processus (Kahl, 1926), a small haptorid ciliate found in polysaprobic habitats. The body is a slightly flattened cylinder. The pellicle is rigid with longitudinal ribbing. The oral aperture is at the anterior apex surrounded by projections of the pellicular ridges. There is a curved funnel-shaped posterior process from which a long caudal cilium protrudes (seen here). The round macronucleus is anterior and the contractile vacuole is located in the posterior 1/3 at the periphery (seen here). The somatic ciliature is confined to the anterior and posterior quarters of the body. From stagnant organically enriched freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. June 2005. DIC optics.