amoeba

Description:

This 'leptomyxid' amoeba was collected from a mineral deposit in a hot region of Nymph Creek. Leptomyxid amoebae are not common. Sometimes they fuse together into arrays measuring many millimeters in size (extremely large for protozoa). They eat bacteria, protists and detritus. The larger forms have multiple nuclei and often break apart to form many separate organisms.