-
Pelomyxa (peal-o-mix-a), a large pelobiont which developed some reputation as possibly the most primitive eukaryote. This argument was based on the fact that it does not have mitochondria, conventional dictyosomes if any, flagella are aberrant, and nuclear division was also thought to be aberrant. The arguments for a primitive status now seem to be unsound. Cytoplasm with small particles of sand. eats algae and detritus. Moves with fountain-flow motion (cytoplasm moving forward up the centre of the cell and then spilling out near the front. Posterior end crumpled, to form a uroid. Phase contrast micrograph.
-
Pelomyxa (peal-o-mix-a), a large pelobiont which developed some reputation as possibly the most primitive eukaryote. This argument was based on the fact that it does not have mitochondria, conventional dictyosomes if any, flagella are aberrant, and nuclear division was also thought to be aberrant. The arguments for a primitive status now seem to be unsound. Cytoplasm with small particles of sand. eats algae and detritus. Moves with fountain-flow motion (cytoplasm moving forward up the centre of the cell and then spilling out near the front. With short inactive flagella over the surface of the cell. Posterior end crumpled, to form a uroid. Phase contrast micrograph.
-
Pelomyxa (peal-o-mix-a), a large pelobiont which developed some reputation as possibly the most primitive eukaryote. This argument was based on the fact that it does not have mitochondria, conventional dictyosomes if any, flagella are aberrant, and nuclear division was also thought to be aberrant. The arguments for a primitive status now seem to be unsound. Cytoplasm with small particles of sand. eats algae and detritus. Moves with fountain-flow motion (cytoplasm moving forward up the centre of the cell and then spilling out near the front. Posterior end crumpled, to form a uroid. Differential interference contrast.
-
Pelomyxa (peal-o-mix-a), a large pelobiont which developed some reputation as possibly the most primitive eukaryote. This argument was based on the fact that it does not have mitochondria, conventional dictyosomes if any, flagella are aberrant, and nuclear division was also thought to be aberrant. The arguments for a primitive status now seem to be unsound. Cytoplasm with small particles of sand. eats algae and detritus. Moves with fountain-flow motion (cytoplasm moving forward up the centre of the cell and then spilling out near the front. Posterior end crumpled, to form a uroid. Phase contrast micrograph.
-
-
Specimen of medium cell size with typical monopodial locomotion. Scale bar indicates 250 µm. Sample from a freshwater pond on the island of Hiddensee (Baltic Sea, Germany). This image was taken using Zeiss Universal with Olympus C7070 CCD camera.Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA).
-
Cellular detail at high magnification. Among many vacuoles, a shell of an engulfed testacea out of the group of euglyphida is visible. Scale bar indicates 10 µm. Sample from a freshwater pond on the island of Hiddensee (Baltic Sea, Germany). This image was taken using Zeiss Universal with Olympus C7070 CCD camera.Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA).
-
Cellular detail at high magnification. In the lower left a cross-section through the nucleus is visible. The nucleolus is a parietal layer beneath the cell membrane. The nuclei are enveloped with a layer of symbiotic bacteria. This is seen in the upper center of the image. Pelomyxa don´t own mitochondria, and these bacteria act like mitochondria. Scale bar indicates 10 µm. Sample from a freshwater pond on the island of Hiddensee (Baltic Sea, Germany). This image was taken using Zeiss Universal with Olympus C7070 CCD camera.Image under Creative Commons License V 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA).
-
Video showing how this amoebae collected at Cedar Swamps in Woods Hole moves around with a single anterior protruding pseudopode. This video made by Dan Lahr under a Zeiss Discovery V12, believe it or not, a dissecting scope.
-
Pelomyxa is an amoeboid organism that inhabits mud in freshwater sites where there is little or no oxygen. The bright bits inside are pieces of sand.
-
Pelomyxa, an unusual amoeba from areas with little oxygen. The front of the cell is to the upper right, and the crumpled structure, a uroid, is at the back. This organism eats algae and the cytoplasm also contains sand grains.