portrait

Description :

Euglena gracilis (you-glean-a grass-ill-iss). Euglena is the iconic genus of euglenoid flagellates, and this is probably the most familiar of the species. The body of most euglenids is typically spindle-shaped, although two flagella arise in a pocket within the cell only one emerges (and sometimes none). The body can squirm, and the cell has one to many chloroplasts. At the anterior of the body a thin channel (flagellar canal) leads to the flagellar pocket, and alongside this is a contractile vacuole. A red eyespot or stigma is associated with the bottom of the flagellar canal. This image shows the nucleus (central). the region of the flagellar pocket as the lighter region to the right, the associated stigma, the single emergent flagellum, and several green chloroplasts. Phase contrast.