Under Construction

Apusomonas proboscidea Aléxéieff 1924

David J. Patterson
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Containing group: Apusomonas

Introduction

This species of Apusomonas is distinguished by having a rounded body. It has been reported from Australia and Europe.

A. proboscidea seems to be a typical, common soil flagellate (Vickerman et al. 1974, Ekelund and Patterson, 1997). It has only been reported a few times from aquatic habitats: from freshwater, under the name Rostromonas applanata (Karpov and Zhukov, 1980), and from estuarine habitats (unpublished data).

Characteristics

Cells are 7 - 8 µm long, dorso-ventrally flattened, roundish to slightly ovate in outline. A flexible mastigophore, approximately the same length as the cell, arises in a cavity about one third of the cell length from the posterior end. The ensheathed anterior flagellum arises at the distal end of the mastigophore. The sheath plus flagellum are about half the cell length and about one third as broad as the mastigophore. The last half to one third of the anterior flagellum is not sheathed. There is a collar-like structure where the mastigophore leaves the cell anteriorly. The nucleus is situated in the posterior of the cell, a contractile vacuole is located to the left hand side of the cell and near the middle. The cell glides over the substrate, the flagellum beats rapidly to the left, the stroke covering an angle of about 45°, the mastigophore is held stiff most of the time and moves only when the cell changes direction.

References

Ekelund, F. and Patterson, D. J. 1997. Some flagellates from a cultivated garden soil in Australia. Archiv für Protistenkunde 148:461-478.

Karpov S. A.& Zhukov, B. F. 1980. Rostromonas applanata gen. et sp. n. (Zoomastigophorea, Protozoa) a new representative of freshwater fauna. Zoologischkei Zhurnal 59:1733-1735. (in Russian)

Karpov S. A.& Zhukov, B. F. 1986. Ultrastructure and taxonomic position of Apusomonas proboscidea Aléxéieff. Archiv für Protistenkunde 131:13-26

Vickerman, K. Darbyshire, J.F. and Ogden, C.G., 1974: Apusomonas proboscidea Aléxéieff 1924, An unusual phagotrophic flagellate from soil. Archiv für Protistenkunde 116:254-269.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Apusomonas proboscidea
Comments Line drawing of living cell
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Copyright © 2000 Flemming Ekelund
About This Page

David J. Patterson
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to David J. Patterson at

Page: Tree of Life Apusomonas proboscidea Aléxéieff 1924. Authored by David J. Patterson. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Patterson, David J. 2000. Apusomonas proboscidea Aléxéieff 1924. Version 18 September 2000 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Apusomonas_proboscidea/20502/2000.09.18 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Leaf Page.

Each ToL leaf page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a leaf at the tip of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a leaf and a branch of the Tree of Life is that a leaf cannot generally be further subdivided into subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Apusomonas proboscidea

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top