140 microns long. From a meltwater puddle thick with filamentous algae.
Aquatic egg mass
Well, I got one pic of the front end and one pic of the back end anyway… fast and free-swimming.
This protist was found in a sample from the shaded side of Castor Beach. It is entirely clear with a visible border. The protist is in the process of consuming a rotifer. Reference for amoeba identification: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.livescience.com/54281-amoeba-definition.html. This protist was clearly consuming another organism by pulling it inside of itself using a pseudopod to pull it in. Amoebas have a very wide distribution and can be found in various environments.
I observed this protista in lab. I classified this organisms as Mica cap (Coprinellus micaceus). This mushroom is is white and light yellow in color. This mushroom is found on clusters on decaying wood. The mushrooms are often found in the spring summer and fall months. I used the website Mushroomexpert.com (https://www.mushroomexpert.com/coprinellus_micaceus.html) to research the Mica cap.
This organism was present in a sample of freshwater taken from Castor Pond at the University of South Florida's campus in Tampa. The organism was viewed under a microscope with 40x magnification on the objective lens. I wasn't able to identify the organism beyond its Kingdom, which is Kingdom Protista.
The organism has an oblong, unicellular, transparent body which houses a cluster of (what I presume to be) chloroplasts. There might be a flagella and/or a feeding groove in the organism, but I cannot say with absolute certainty. According to Britannica, features that are unique to protists are that they are eukaryotic -- complete with membrane bound organelles -- and can exist in unicellular or multicellular forms. These features can be observed in this mystery organism.
Protists are extremely widespread around the world and can exist in a variety of environments. However, they are most common in areas that contain bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, and oceans.
https://www.britannica.com/science/protist/Features-unique-to-protists
The following image was taken under a microscope during one of the Biodiversity lab sessions and could be described as an amoeba. The figure is perceived to be from the kingdom Protista because it appears to be unicellular and can not be classified as a animal, fungi, etc.
This is a protist. This is in Kingdom Protista. This was found in the pond in Castor Beach near the University of South Florida. This was observed on February 7, 2019 at 9:06 AM. This protist has string like projections that come out of it as they move along a line. This protist appears to be white. One characteristic that defines this as a protist is the size. It's size is very small and round shaped. A reference used https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.livescience.com/54242-protists.html. In which this reference describes Protists as being very diverse. It's habitat is in pond areas and in Florida especially southern Florida.
Visual Description: The general shape of this organism was small, oval-like thread structures. The general size of Chilomonas are 20-40 micrometers. The coloration of these organisms was a bleak, beige color, however, their threaded appearance made some portions of the organism appear clear. The defining characteristic in identifying this organism was the coiled threading and also the appearance of a flagella.
References: https://microscope-microscope.org/pond-water-critters-protozoan-guide/mastigophora/chilomonas-2/ and http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/Choices/Cryptophyceae/Non-photosynthetic%20Cryptomonads/CHILOMONAS/Chilomonas_key.htm
Habitat: Primarily found in freshwater lakes and rivers. There have been a few known discoveries of Chilomonas in brackish water, most commonly in Europe.
Geographic Distribution: ?
Semi fast movement. Could not determine if moved based off celia or flagella
Small water sample tanked from water run-off in subdivision. Clear-bodied protist with two flagella protruding from one end of its body.
From a 5-months-old sample after algal bloom.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VAKq_V12Mgo
Photo #7 shows it with the peristoimal cilia retracted
S. roeselli? Not purple like most of the other Stentor in this sample were.