portrait

Description:

Portrait of Loxodes vorax (left side), a colorless karyorelict ciliate. The cell body is elongate, rounded anteriorly and posteriorly and highly laterally compressed. The anterior is bent ventrally forming a short beak-like rostrum. Very flexible. Somatic ciliature on the left side is restricted to a marginal kinety (seen here). On the right surface there are regular longitudinal kineties. The slit shaped cytostome is located in a ventral concavity posterior to the rostrum. A cone of fibrils forms a primitive cytopharynx at the posterior end of the cytostome. Two small spherical macronuclei flank a micronucleus in the mid body (seen here just anterior to ingested cyanobacteria). Refractile concretions of barium sulfate occupy several Müller's vesicles on the dorsal side. These probably act as statoreceptors, orienting the organism in the gravitational field. L. vorax is very similar to L. rostrum, the type species, but lacks zoochlorellae and also has a prominent posterior vacuole of uncertain function (seen here). Several food vacuoles are visible. From organically enriched freshwater pond sediment near Boise, Idaho. DIC optics.