A Drop of Life

Stentor

Stentor is one of the largest protozoans you are apt to see with (or without) a microscope. Some species stretch out to 3mm, snapping back into a concentrated ball when threatened, or in response to any sudden change in their environment. Here you can see the band of cilia that curls down into a food sorting cavity where choice morsels are engulfed and digested in food vacuoles.

 


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More about single cell life:
Branches on the Tree of Life: Viruses and Bacteria
or Branches on the Tree of Life: Protists