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Heteromita (het-err-o-might-a), one of the smaller gliding flagellates, mostly from soils and freshwater habitats. Flattened, two unthickened flagella inserting into a subapical depression in the cell. Anterior flagellum beats with a flopping motion, posterior flagellum drags behind. A cercomonad. There can be considerable variation among cells in a population. Phase contrast.
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Heteromita (het-err-o-might-a), one of the smaller gliding flagellates, mostly from soils and freshwater habitats. Flattened, two unthickened flagella inserting into a subapical depression in the cell. Anterior flagellum beats with a flopping motion, posterior flagellum drags behind. A cercomonad. There can be considerable variation among cells in a population. Phase contrast.
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Heteromita (het-err-o-might-a), one of the smaller gliding flagellates, mostly from soils and freshwater habitats. Flattened, two unthickened flagella inserting into a subapical depression in the cell. Anterior flagellum beats with a flopping motion, posterior flagellum drags behind. A cercomonad. There can be considerable variation among cells in a population. Phase contrast.
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Phase contrast image showing two flagella of similar lengths inserting near the anterior pole of rhc ell. The light area posterior to the point of flagellar insertion is the nucleus. This flagellate eats bacteria - such as those around it.
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Heteromita globosa Stein, 1878. Cells are 4 to 6 microns long, ovoid to roundish, and slightly flattened. Two flagella insert subapically in a slight depression. The anterior flagellum, slightly thinner than the posterior one, may be very short or about the same length as the body and may be directed anteriorly or posteriorly. The posterior flagellum is one to two and half times the length of the body. The nucleus is located anteriorly, the contractile vacuole posteriorly. Refractile granules and food vacuoles are often visible. Cells glide on the posterior flagellum, wobbling and frequently changing direction. The anterior flagellum beats stiffly if anteriorly directed. To engulf bacteria, cells stop moving and use ventral pseudopodia.
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Heteromita is commonly encountered in freshwater and soil environments. This video has two sequences - the first is of CCAP strain 1961/1, and created in 1961. The second shows cells from a field sample taken in Berlin a couple of years later.
