Critter of the week (week #3)

 

 

For this week's critter I didn't have to spend very long at the microscope.  There were many candidates, but eventually the winner was the one that moved the least.  Some of these little guys are pretty quick and trying to get a good picture of them is next to impossible.  That's why I like this one in particular.  It didn't move because it was attached to a Bladderwort stem.

 

 

 

This is a Limnias.  The Limnias is a rotifer in the Flosculariidae family.  Dr. MacFarland

helped me identify this little guy using The Guide to Microlife by Kenneth G. Rainis and Bruce J. Russell.  This particular animal caught my attention because of the way it uses the cilia around it's mouth.  The cilia move very quickly in a circular motion sweeping food into it's mouth.  Simple but effective.