A couple of blog posts ago, I discussed some recent research suggesting that some testate amoebae use their shells for predation. Yesterday, I was looking at samples from Mer Bleue Bog, and came across some more specimens of the handsome amoeba I mentioned in that post, Netzelia corona. I took some time to look more…
Netzelia corona is a testate amoeba with “teeth” around the aperture of its shell. It also has some impressive spines jutting out from its posterior, which have obvious advantages as a defensive apparatus. But it’s the teeth that have always puzzled me. They’re very neatly made, featuring uniform lobes of organic cement from which tiny,…
A few years ago, I looked in a sample of water from a bog lake, and saw something like a hyperactive avocado shifting around inside in a tiny kerosene lamp: The architect of that pretty dwelling is the ciliate Calyptotricha pleuronemoides. The species and genus were discovered in 1882, in samples from a pond near…
I’ve added a number to the title of this post, because I expect to make “Protist Homes” a regular feature. I had intended it to be an idea-free zone, devoted to uncomplicated wonderment (kind of like the tours of celebrity homes and stately residences on HGTV). But I know some ideas and research will creep…
