portrait

Description:

Condylostoma (con-dee-lost-oh-ma) is a medium to large ciliate (usually over 100 microns long). Commonly associated with surfaces, and slightly enriched habitats. The large anterior mouth can pick up relatively large particles of food . It is a heterotrich ciliate, with conventional cilia over most of the body and used to propel the cell, but with larger cilia around the mouth. This cell has obviously been consuming a variety of algae. Phase contrast.