Spirostomum
is a very large ciliate measuring from 300-600 microns long (almost big
enough to see with the naked eye). It has a long opaque, cylindrical
body. The
ectoplasm in the Spirostomum has strong myonemes which contract the
body to one fourth its length in 6-8 miliseconds. Because of
these contractions, a thick culture looks like a plate of wiggling
spaghetti. |
