portrait

Description:

Chilomastix (kai-low-ma-sticks), a genus of retortamonad flagellates, mostly reported in association with animals, but we find this species (C. cuspidata) in anoxic sites. There are four flagella, we can only see three in this picture, inserting just subapically, and at the head of a large groove. One wall of the groove has a cusp. Posterior end drawn out as a long spike. Phase Contrast.