Stentor (ciliate)

Common card · No. 240620

Stentor (previously known as "trumpet animalcules") is a genus of trumpet-shaped, ciliated protists common to most of the world. This group has been thoroughly studied by a small collection of dedicated micro-zoologists since the late 1800s, with multiple revisions occurring among their taxa since. Members of this genus all share the same general morphology of a wide anterior feeding end and a tapered posterior tail end where they commonly adhere themselves to substrate. They are very large cells, ranging from approximately 0.4 to 2 millimeters (although this varies with species). They also have very fine control over their large bodies and can squeeze into a ball one-sixth of their total size or extend upward, widening their anterior feeding side. Species can have unique pigments due to the colouration of their ectoplasm's cortical granules and can organize distinct configurations of their large macronuclei. They are heterotrophic and feed using their many cilia to create a water current...

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