portrait

Description:

Massisteria (mass-hysteria) is a cercomonad flagellate, with one species (M. marina ), measuring 2.5 to 6.5 microns, dorso-ventrally flattened irregular body. Cells produce delicate pseudopodia with extrusomes, which extend radially from the cell and normally adhere to the substrate. Two short curved flagella arise from the dorsal side of the cell and are relatively inactive in trophic cells, and are very hard to see. Cells may withdraw pseudopodia, and swim using the flagella. This species has been reported in marine sites in subtropical and tropical Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Gulf of Finland, equatorial Pacific, and Panama. Phase contrast.