This is a Pleuronema, a hard to record unicellular organism, it can "jump" away very fast when it's startled by something. In this clip, a tiny alga is bumping into Pleuronema and scaring the bejesus out of it. 😂 . Pleuronema feeds mostly on bacteria, and it runs away when it's disturbed to protect itself from predators, at least that's what I believe. Unfortunately, there are not many studies on them. . It's tough to record it with high magnification objectives because when it jumps, it gets o

My favorite unicellular organism is having a snack in real time. It has a perfectly fitting name: Lacrymaria olor, which translates to “tears of a swan,” referring to its tear-shaped body and swan-like neck. . Lacrymaria olor’s “neck” can extend up to 30 times its body length. If I had that skill, taking the trash out would be dramatically easier. 😂 At the tip of the neck are tiny, needle-like structures packed with cell-melting toxins. Lacrymaria usually hides its body among debris and repeate

This is a unicellular organism called Dileptus, and it’s eating another one called Glaucoma, in real time. . Dileptus has an elephant-trunk–like structure called a proboscis. Inside this proboscis are tiny needle-like structures known as extrusomes. These needles are loaded with toxic, digestive chemicals. When Dileptus makes contact with a potential food organism, the extrusomes are discharged, piercing the cell and releasing their contents. . In the video, the moment Dileptus’s proboscis touch

This is a unicellular organism called Nassulopsis, and it is heavily infected with parasites that are slowly feeding on the host and reproducing. All the round structures on and inside the cell are the parasites. . I love Nassulopsis because of the purple pigments in its cell. They swim around in nearby rivers, feeding on filamentous algae and minding their own business until they get parasitized by a group of unicellular organisms called suctorians. . Suctorians have different life stages. A ti