Advancing amoeba

This amoeba, about 70 microns in diameter, moves slowly forward as if gliding on a glass surface. The central part of its body seems to be hard and includes numerous particles, while the surrounding part appears soft and transparent.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This organism belongs to genus Cochliopodium, most likely to be Cochliopodium actinophorum.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

This amoeba has a transparent plate-like shell on the top of the cell. It is hard to observe the shell from the top view、but it can be seen from the side view. The shell is elastic, so when an amoeba detaches from a surface and becomes round, the shell also curves into a bowl-shape that conforms to the shape of the cell body.

Sampling Date : 27 May 2009

Sampling Site : Hirose River A  Google Map

An amoeba rights itself

This small amoeba, about 30 microns long, is lying in a flat position in the center of the screen. Numerous particles can be seen inside its transparent shell. Some pseudopods start to appear at the edges of the shell, and then suddenly the amoeba rises up on the pseudopods and slowly moves to another place.

Commentary by Prof. Yuji Tsukii, Hosei University
This video shows how an overturned Cochliopodium rights itself and begin to move again. It is a pity that we cannot clearly see the pseudopodia extending from under the shell. As this amoebae is relatively small and has a round shell, it may be Cochliopodium minus.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Im.....

Sampling Date : 28 May 2009

Sampling Site : Hirose River B  Google Map