holdfast

Description:

Oxymonas - oxymonad flagellates with a club-shaped cell, (5-165 µm), and an anterior extensile rostellum terminated by a holdfast that attaches to the cuticle of the host intestinal intima. The four relatively short flagella are inserted in two pairs at the base of the rostellum. The crystalline axostyle originates at the base of the rostellum and divides in thin branches traversing the cell to the posterior end where it is surrounded by a sheath. The nucleus is situated at the base of the rostellum. Oxymonas jouteli showing the long rostellum with the terminal finger-like holdfast (phase contrast).