Chaetonotus (keet-a-note-us) a gastrotrich. Perhaps after tardigrades, these are the most inherently cute metazoa likely to be encountered by microscopists. Move by gliding and wriggling over and through the substrate. With an anterior mouth leading to a through gut. Posteriorly with two podites (a bit like rotifers to which they are related, with which they can attach to the substrate. Phase contrast.
M. Antonio Todaro, Matteo Dal Zotto, Sarah J. Bownes, Renzo Perissinotto
Zookeys
Figure 2.Gastrotricha from St. Lucia beach, South Africa. Halichaetonotus sanctaeluciae sp. n., schematic drawings A dorsal view B ventral view (locomotor cilia omitted).
This gastrotrich is about the same size as many ciliates and organisms like this are often encountered in samples, especially from sediments. Phase contrast microscopy.
M. Antonio Todaro, Matteo Dal Zotto, Sarah J. Bownes, Renzo Perissinotto
Zookeys
Figure 3.Gastrotricha from St. Lucia beach, South Africa. Halichaetonotus sanctaeluciae sp. n., habitus A dorsal view B ventral view. DIC photomicrographs.
Description: English: Chaetonotus (Captochaetus) robustus (insert shows the peculiar scales); Scale bar =100 µm. Date: 27 July 2015. Source: Balsamo M, d`Hondt J, Kisielewski J, Todaro M, Tongiorgi P, Guidi L, Grilli P, de Jong Y (2015) Fauna Europaea: Gastrotricha. Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e5800. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e5800. Author: Maria Balsamo.
Description: English: Microphotograph of Lepidodermella squamatum (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida) Русский: Микрофотография брюхоресничного червя Lepidodermella squamatum (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida). Date: 22 August 2010. Source: Flickr.com. Author: Giuseppe Vago. Other versions: : This file has been extracted from another file: Lepidodermella squamatum.jpg : .