Bursaria Truncatella
Ciliophora: Protozoans that Move with Cilia
The Bursaria Truncatella is part of the Phylum Ciliophora. View more Ciliophora here.
The Bursaria is a large protozoan and belongs to the Phyllum Ciliophora. It is from 500-1000 um long, has a wide mouth (top) and a deep gullet. It uses cilia for locomotion and to sweep food down into its gullet.
Bursaria feeds readily on a particular species of Paramecium called Paramecium bursaria.
When conditions are less than favorable, the Bursaria encysts (it turns into a hard shelled sphere) and waits out the time until favorable conditions return.
They are readily available from science supply companies, and because of their large size, make good Ciliophora specimens.
The image at left is a Bursaria full of the Paramecium bursaria. Notice also the oral grooves on the lower right side of this protist. This microscopy image was taken with a darkfield microscope.