Portrait

Description:

Portrait of the Prostome ciliate, Plagiocampa rouxi(Schewiakoff, 1892). This slightly squashed individual is one of the several Plagiocampa species that lack a long caudal cilium. Free-swimming cells are ovoid to cylindrical in shape. The oral aperture is an apical slit bordered on the right by multiple finger-like protoplasmic projections (seen well in this image). These projections bear extrusomes (not visible in vivo). The cytopharynx is supported by short fine trichites (seen well in this image). The longitudinal somatic kineties are uniform. The ovoid macronucleus and the adjacent micronucleus are located just posterior to the center. A single contractile vacuole (seen in this image) is located at the posterior terminus. Multiple food vacuoles are visible in the cytoplasm of this cell. Plagiocampa feeds on bacteria, flagellates and other ciliates. Collected from a freshwater agricultural irrigation canal near Boise, Idaho November 2003. DIC optics.