It's amazing that these small creatures can be differentiated by the smallest of details, such as the number of cilia, where they're located, the shape of the body - the list is endless. This is a Stylonychia, about 150 microns in size. They are numerous in fresh, brackish and salt water. This protozoa wasn't too difficult to identify, despite its hundreds of cousins - it matched a diagram in one of my reference books exactly. Stylonychia (and their relatives) are prized food for newly hatched fry, small fish and hydra. On a slide these microbes are always moving and they move fast. This image was taken through my microscope with a video camera. Magnification is about 400x. Back To Image Index Page