Stylonychia
Stylonychia | |
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Stylonychia mytilus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
Clade: | SAR |
Clade: | Alveolata |
Phylum: | Ciliophora |
Class: | Spirotrichea |
Family: | Oxytrichidae |
Genus: | Stylonychia Ehrenberg, 1830 |
Stylonychia is a genus of
cilia grouped into membranelles alongside the mouth and cirri
over the body. It is distinguished partly by long cirri at the posterior, usually a cluster of three. The largest can just be seen at a 25x magnification, and the smallest can just be seen at a 450x magnification.
Description
Stylonychia cells are roughly oval in shape, inflexible and flattened from back to front.[1] The organism's cilia are grouped into structures called "cirri," tufts of joined cilia that function together as a unit. The cirri on the ventral surface of the cell can function as legs, enabling the organism to walk along solid substrates, such as submerged algae, leaves or debris.
Like other ciliates of the family Oxytrichidae, Stylonychia has a prominent group of eighteen large cirri on its ventral surface, arranged into six smaller groups: the frontal, buccal, frontoventral, postoral, pretransverse and transverse cirri.
Image and video Gallery
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Stylonychia putrina
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Stylonychia eating (vacuole formation)
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Stylonychia growing a second mouth (stomatogenesis, prior to cell division)
References
- ^ ISSN 1522-2632.
- ^ ISBN 978-94-011-4637-1.
External links