portrait

Description:

Stokesia (stoke-see-a) vernalis, the only member of the genus; this is an obliquely cone-shaped planktonic ciliate. The oral aperture is located on the flat ventral side and is formed like a furrow. The furrow is equipped an undulating membrane and two membranelles. There are symbiotic green algae in the cytoplasm. There are 3 - 4 micronuclei attached to the ellipsoidal macronucleus. The contractile vacuole is located dorsally and has very obvious pores and collecting canals. This species can be 100 - 220 microns long. This specimen was collected in freshwater ponds near Konstanz, Germany. Differential interference contrast.