Portrait

Description:

Portrait of the marine interstitial trachelocercid ciliate, Tracheloraphis (Dragesco, 1958). This genus contains many species and identification at the species level is quite difficult. Tracheloraphis is highly contractile. This view shows a contracted individual. Some species are greater than 2 millimeters in length when extended. The left side of the organism Seen here) bears a long unciliated "glabrous stripe". The inconspicuous cytostome is at the anterior apex. There is an inconspicuous cleft on the left margin of the cytostome. Morphology of the macronuclei is highly variable with as few as four to more than 50 macronuclei usually grouped in clusters of two or more. There are multiple micronuclei. Collected from a commercial marine aquarium in Boise, Idaho January 2004. DIC optics.