Dorsal infraciliature

Description:

Dorsal infraciliature of the haptorid ciliate, Monodinium balbianii (FABRE-DOMERGUE, 1888). The dorsal side is distinguished by the five parallel rows of clavate (club-shaped) cilia (the dorsal brush) just posterior to the anterior wreath of ciliated basal bodies. The longitudinal files of somatic kinetosomes (not seen well here) are unciliated except for the dorsal brush and the obliquely inclined closely spaced ciliated basal bodies that form the ciliary girdle. Darkly stained extrusomes are visible here. Collected from a freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho March 2005. Stained by the silver carbonate technique (see Foissner, W. Europ. J. Protistol., 27:313-330;1991). Brightfield.