Ventral infraciliature; in vivo

Description:

Ventral view of the small marine dysteriid ciliate, Trochilia sigmoides (Dujardin,1841).This is the type species for the genus, Trochilia.The cell outline is ovoid. The dorsum is arched with deep S-shaped grooves.The ventral surface is flat. Ciliature is restricted to the ventral surface except for a small left anterior dorsal brush. The right somatic kineties are visible here (arrow).The ventral cytostome is supported by two stout nematodesmata (large arrowhead). Two short left kineties are seen just to the left and anterior to the cytostome (small arrowhead).Collected from tide pools at Alkai Beach,Seattle,Washington 47°35'41.87" N;122°23'17.57" W.January 2006.DIC.