Frontoniidae

Right dorsolateral surface view of the hymenostome ciliate, Frontonia angusta (Kahl, 1931). Very similar in overall apppearance to F. acuminata (Ehrenberg,1833)Buetschli,1889. F. angusta lacks the anterior apical collection of pigmented granules seen in F. acuminata and its contractile vacuole has 3-4 excretory pores (4 in this case).The approximately 6 µm long extrusomes are clearly visible. Ingested diatoms and green algae are present. Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho.DIC.

.Portrait of the frontoniid ciliate, Disematostoma buetschlii LAUTERBORN, 1894. D. buetschlii contains endosymbiotic algae but may lose (or digest) them during fall and winter (Ulrike-G.Berninger, Bland J.Finlay, and Hilda M.Canter; The Spatial Distribution and Ecology of Zoochlorellae-Bearing Ciliates in a Productive Pond. J.Protozool. 33(4):557-563, 1986). Although this specimen is slightly smaller (80 microns) than what is commonly reported for D. buetschlii (110 microns) it is otherwise indistinguishable. Kahl describes a smaller species without endosymbiotic algae (D. minor) (A.Kahl; [Urtiere oder Protozoa I: Wimpertiere oder Ciliata (Infusoria) 2. Holotricha]. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meeresteile. Germany:Verlag von Gustav Fischer. (2)-398). However it is unclear whether this is simply a small variety of D. buetschlii with algal endosymbionts. The cell shape is obovoid tapering to a blunt slightly curved point posteriorly. Dorsal surface convex with a flattened ventral surface. The cytostome (seen well in this image) is located in the anterior 1/3 with 3 left adoral membranelles and an inconspicuous undulating membrane on the right. 4-5 dense vestibular ciliary rows are found on the right of the cytostome. The reniform macronucleus is seen well here. The contractile vacuole is in the posterior half. The longitudinal somatic kineties terminate on prominent ladder-like preoral and postoral suture (the polar band). The preoral suture is seen well in this image. D. buetschlii is primarily algivorous and some of the green algae seen in the cytoplasm in this image may be in food vacuoles. Collected from freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho September 2003. DIC.

Frontonia (front-own-ee-a) is a peniculine ciliate and as such is closely related to the familiar Paramecium. It has many crystalline inclusions called trichocysts (a special form of extrusome). When stressed the crystalline structure of these changes, and they are expelled in large numbers and forceably from the cell. This action can force the cell away from the noxious stimulus. The expelled, the trichocysts look like little spears attached to the slide or to the substrate. Phase contrast.

[taxonomy:genus=Disematostoma] Date: 7 Sep 2011, originally collected 6 Sep 2011 Location: Freshwater stream flowing out of MacRitchie Reservoir, close to Venus Drive entrance. On field trip with NUS freshwater biology class. Stream was brown with sandy bottom, water mostly clear. Microscope: Bright-field with closed condenser aperture. Camera: Nikon D7000 Collector: Brandon Seah Scale: 20830 pixels/mm = 20.8 pixels/µm (40x)

Mahide, Castilla y Len, Espaa

Castille and Leon, Spain

Rumoroso, Cantabria, Espaa

Canencia, Madrid, Spain

Franceses, Canary Islands, Spain

Los Cotos, Madrid, Spain

Frontonia leucas Scale bar indicates 100 µm. Sample from Domänental pond near Kronshagen (Kiel, Germany). The image was built up using several photomicrographic frames with manual stacking technique. Images were taken using Zeiss Axioplan with Olympus OM-D M5 MKII.Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA). Place name: Pond Domänental near Kronshagen (Kiel, Germany) Latitude: 54,33211 Longitude: 10,060821 Multiebenen-Abbildung, manuell gestapelt. Der Messbalken markiert eine Länge von 100 µm. Probe aus dem Domänental-Teich bei Kronshagen. Mikrotechnik: Zeiss Axioplan Kamera: Olympus OM-D M5 MKII. Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA). For permission to use of (high-resolution) images please contact postmaster@protisten.de.

Ventral infraciliature of the hymenostome ciliate, Frontonia angusta (Kahl, 1931). Very similar in overall apppearance to F. acuminata (Ehrenberg,1833)Buetschli,1889. F. angusta lacks the anterior apical collection of pigmented granules seen in F. acuminata and its contractile vacuole has 3-4 excretory pores (not visible here).The prominent preoral and postoral sutures are visible. The 3 curved adoral membranelles are seen on the viewer's right of the oral apparatus. The vestibular ciliary rows are seen to the viewer's left of the the oral apparatus.The postoral ciliary field is seen abutting the posterior margin of the peristome to the viewer's right of the postoral suture.Stained by the silver carbonate technique (see Foissner, W. Europ. J. Protistol., 27:313-330;1991).Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho.Brightfield.

Dorsal surface of the frontoniid ciliate, Disematostoma buetschlii LAUTERBORN, 1894. D. buetschlii contains endosymbiotic algae but may lose (or digest) them during fall and winter (Ulrike-G.Berninger, Bland J.Finlay, and Hilda M.Canter; The Spatial Distribution and Ecology of Zoochlorellae-Bearing Ciliates in a Productive Pond. J.Protozool. 33(4):557-563, 1986). Although this specimen is slightly smaller (80 microns) than what is commonly reported for D. buetschlii (about 110 microns) it is otherwise indistinguishable. Kahl describes a smaller species without endosymbiotic algae (D. minor) (A.Kahl; [Urtiere oder Protozoa I: Wimpertiere oder Ciliata (Infusoria) 2. Holotricha]. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meeresteile. Germany:Verlag von Gustav Fischer. (2)-398). However it is unclear whether this is simply a small variety of D. buetschlii without algal endosymbionts. The cell shape is obovoid tapering to a blunt slightly curved point posteriorly. Dorsal surface convex with a flattened ventral surface. The cytostome is located in the anterior 1/3 with 3 left adoral membranelles and an inconspicuous undulating membrane on the right. 4-5 dense vestibular ciliary rows are found on the right of the cytostome. The reniform macronucleus is seen well here. The longitudinal somatic kineties terminate on prominent ladder-like preoral and postoral suture (the polar band). The polar band can be seen curving to the viewer's right in this image. The solitary dorsal excretory pore of the contractile vacuole is seen here to the viewer's right of the anterior part of the polar band.D. buetschlii is primarily algivorous and some of the green algae seen in the cytoplasm in this image may be in food vacuoles. Collected from freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho September 2003. DIC.

Frontonia (front-own-ee-a) is a peniculine ciliate and as such is closely related to the familiar Paramecium. The mouth is supported by strong rods which assists Frontonia in ingesting its preferred food - diatoms and other moderate sized algae. A diatom can be seen inside the cell. The mouth is located at about 10 o clock. Like many peniculines the cell has many extrusomes lying just under the cell surface, and these are expelled when the cells are challenged. Large grey area is the nucleus. Phase contrast.

Castille and Leon, Spain

Canencia, Comunidad de Madrid, Espaa

Matute, La Rioja, Spain

Los Cotos, Madrid, Spain

Frontonia leucas Scale bar indicates 100 µm. Sample from Domänental pond near Kronshagen (Kiel, Germany). The image was built up using several photomicrographic frames with manual stacking technique. Images were taken using Zeiss Axioplan with Olympus OM-D M5 MKII.Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA). Place name: Pond Domänental near Kronshagen (Kiel, Germany) Latitude: 54,33211 Longitude: 10,060821 Multiebenen-Abbildung, manuell gestapelt. Der Messbalken markiert eine Länge von 100 µm. Probe aus dem Domänental-Teich bei Kronshagen. Mikrotechnik: Zeiss Axioplan Kamera: Olympus OM-D M5 MKII. Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA). For permission to use of (high-resolution) images please contact postmaster@protisten.de.

Detail view of the oral apparatus of the frontoniid ciliate, Disematostoma buetschlii LAUTERBORN, 1894. D. buetschlii contains endosymbiotic algae but may lose (or digest) them during fall and winter (Ulrike-G.Berninger, Bland J.Finlay, and Hilda M.Canter; The Spatial Distribution and Ecology of Zoochlorellae-Bearing Ciliates in a Productive Pond. J.Protozool. 33(4):557-563, 1986). Although this specimen is slightly smaller (80 microns) than what is commonly reported for D. buetschlii (? 110 microns) it is otherwise indistinguishable. A smaller species without endosymbiotic algae (D. minor) is described by Kahl (A.Kahl; [Urtiere oder Protozoa I: Wimpertiere oder Ciliata (Infusoria) 2. Holotricha]. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meeresteile. Germany:Verlag von Gustav Fischer. (2)-398). However it is unclear whether this is simply a small variety of D. buetschlii with algal endosymbionts. The cell shape is obovoid tapering to a blunt slightly curved point posteriorly. Dorsal surface convex with a flattened ventral surface. The cytostome is located in the anterior 1/3 with 3 left adoral membranelles and an inconspicuous undulating membrane on the right. 4-5 dense vestibular ciliary rows are found on the right of the cytostome (seen well in this image). The reniform macronucleus is seen well here. The contractile vacuole is in the posterior half. The longitudinal somatic kineties terminate on prominent ladder-like preoral and postoral suture (the polar band). D. buetschlii is primarily algivorous and some of the green algae seen in the cytoplasm in this image may be in food vacuoles. Collected from freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho September 2003. DIC.

Frontonia (front-own-ee-a) is a peniculine ciliate and as such is closely related to the familiar Paramecium. The mouth is supported by strong rods which assists Frontonia in ingesting its preferred food - diatoms and other moderate sized algae. Like many peniculines the cell has many extrusomes lying just under the cell surface, and these are expelled when the cells are challenged. Large grey area is the nucleus. Phase contrast.

Mahide, Castilla y Len, Espaa