Opalozoa

Caecitellus (seek-it-tell-us) parvulus(Griessmann, 1913) Patterson et al., 1993. Cells are 2 to 4.5 microns long and somewhat triangular or rounded. There is a mouth protruding on the right ventral side of the cell. The cells have two flagella, the acronematic anterior flagellum beats slowly and stiffly with a small excursion, and inserts apically. It is slightly longer than the cell length. The non-acronematic posterior flagellum is about 2.3 to 3 times cell length, emerges from the ventral face of the cell and trails under the body. The cells move slowly by gliding with the anterior flagellum in close contact with the substrate.

Caecitellus parvulus (Griessmann, 1913) Patterson et al., 1993. Cells are 2 to 4.5 microns long and somewhat triangular or rounded. There is a mouth that protrudes on the right ventral side of the cell. The cells have two flagella, the acronematic anterior flagellum beats slowly and stiffly with a small excursion, and inserts apically. It is slightly longer than the cell length. The non-acronematic posterior flagellum is about 2.3 to 3 times the cell length, emerges from the ventral face of the cell and trails under the body. The cells move slowly by gliding with the anterior flagellum in close contact with the substrate.

This DIC image is of cells from ATCC strain 50091. Image taken in April 2006. ATCC data on this organism.

Image of flattened cell from ATCC strain nnumber 50398, images April 2006. ATCC data on this organism.

Phase contrast micrograph showing the two short anterior flagella, the nucleus and the mitochondrion close to the base of the flagella.

ATCC 50177. This parasite was recently placed within stramenopiles.

Karotomorpha cells are small (12-16 µm) flagellates with four (two pairs) long flagella inserted subapically. Anterior nucleus, body surface ridged. Dictyosomes situated at the base of the flagella. Pinocytic nutrition, occurring in the gut of amphibia. Karotomorpha bufonis from Bufo bufo (Giemsa staining). 

Scanning EM showing the corrugated cell surface and the four anterior flagella.

Diagram showing the two pairs of flagella, the rhizoplast, Golgi, nucleus, mitochondrion and the corrugated cell surface

The coiling of the long anterior flagellum when it retracts (seen in the lowermost cell here) is typical of this genus. There is a daughter cell adherent to the inner surface of the chitinous lorica by its posterior flagellum in this image. DIC.