surface

Description :

Dorsal surface of the metopid ciliate, Brachonella spiralis. The body is broadly conical anteriorly with a narrower obliquely truncate posterior. The long S-shaped peristome winds around the entire circumference of the cell terminating in the cytostome. This spiraling cytostome distinguishes Brachonella (Jankowski 1964) from similar genus Metopus in which the peristome runs obliquely from anterior to posterior but does not spiral around the long axis. The cytostome is paralleled on the right by a perizonal stripe of kineties and on the left an adoral zone of membranelles. The uniform longitudinal dorsal kineties and the posterior end of the perizonal stripe of kineties are seen well in this image