portrait
Mesodinium (me-sew-din-ee-um) common marine ciliate, small with a wreath which includes forward and rearward pointing cilia. Often small tentacles emerge from the apex of the cell. The tentacles may seem forked at their tips They have a jumping motion often coming to rest, spinning for a few seconds before dashing off to somewhere else. One species includes red algal symbionts and may occur in sufficient numbers to cause a red tide - but not toxic. Differential interference contrast. This picture was taken by David Patterson, Linda Amaral Zettler and Virginia Edgcomb of materials from sediments of the marine site, Eel Pond in Austumn 2000, spring and summer 2001. Image copyright: D. J. Patterson, L. Amaral-Zettler and V. Edgcomb, image used under license to MBL (micro*scope).
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Mesodinium
From the collection
Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
| Description of Mesodinium: Mesodiniid ciliate, equatorial belt kineties as two files of kinetosomes and pre-equatorial belt as a single file of kinetosomes; conical oral area with capitate tentacles. |
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