portrait

Description:

Frontal view of the marine hypotrich ciliate, Gastrocirrhus monilifer (Ozaki et Yagiu, 1942).The cell body is broadly cup-shaped, transversely truncate anteriorly and rounded posteriorly. The broad, funnel-shaped peristome opens anteriorly.The peristome is bordered on the left by a prominent adoral zone of membranelles. There are strongly developed frontoventral and transverse cirri, the latter in a U-shaped distribution posterior to the cytostome. The frontoventral cirri lie to the right of the peristome. There are no caudal cirri.There are a few dorsal kineties with short inconspicuous cilia. The macronucleus is moniliform. Cells are brownish-yellow in color. G. monilifer crawls along the substrate on its cirri as seen in this image. Collected from a commercial saltwater aquarium in Boise, Idaho February 2004. DIC optics.