portrait
Hexamastix (hex-a-mas-sticks) is a monocercomonad - a member of the trichomonads. It is relatively small. It has five flagella, three can be seen in front of the cell, one passes under the cell and to the left, and one curves round to the right of the cell. The point projecting from the back of the cell is a skeletal element called an axostyle. From the termite Zootermopsis. Phase contrast. This picture was taken by Linda Amaral Zettler, Lorraine Olendzenski, and David Patterson of material from the intestines of the termite Zootermopsis. Image copyright: L Amaral-Zettler, L. Olendzenski and D. J. Patterson, image used under license to MBL (micro*scope).
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Hexamastix
From the collection
Zootermopsis - termite
| Description of Hexamastix: Hexamastix are small (10-30 µm) trichomonad flagellates with five grouped anterior free flagella and a non-adherent recurrent one. Axostyle well developed and parabasal V-shaped. Electron microscopy has shown the basal body arrangement and other trichomonad features. Among the 11 species described, several live in invertebrates; e.g., H. claviger in termites (Kirby, 1930) and other species in hosts such as the mole cricket, tipulid larvae, and a leech as well as in various vertebrates. |
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