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Lecane lunaris
The most remarkable feature of Lecane is its feeding apparatus. As you
can see there is a prominent zone on both sides of the head. This zone
is covered with cilia wich can only be guessed in this still shot. If
you watch Lecane under the microscope you will usually find the cilia in
motion; they are extended when moving inward but flat to the body when
moving the other direction. Thus a vortex is produced which flushes
Lecane's food right into its mouth which is located in the middle of the
head. This cilia motion makes the prominent zones on the head look like
little wheels in rotation; in fact, the English translation of the
common name of Lecane and its family is about "wheel animal", the Latin
class name is Rotatoria. |
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