Feeding

Description:

Portrait of the colorless benthic marine protist, Stephanopogon apogon (Borror, 1965)attempting (ambitiously) to ingest a large diatom. The phylogenetic affinities of Stephanopogon are uncertain. Once thought to be a ciliate, electron microscopic studies of S. apogon revealed absence of ciliate characteristics such as pellicular alveoli, infraciliature (e.g. kinetodesmal fibrils, postciliary microtubules and transverse microtubules) and nuclear dualism. S. apogon is elongate and moderately dorsoventrally flattened. The cell is curved slightly to the right. The posterior is round and the anterior end obliquely truncate. There are approximately 6-8 longitudinal files of smooth flagella limited to the ventral surface. The anterior apical cytostome is slit-like and bordered by a slightly raised lip. There are 2-16 homokaryotic nuclei (not seen here). Division occurs while encysted (palintomy). Collected from a commercial saltwater aquarium in Boise, Idaho September 2004. DIC.