Didinium

Didinium balbanii drawings in the figure above (as well as Dinophrya lieberkuehnii in the middle and lionotus fasciola below)

Didinium is a genus of single-celled organisms from the root of the ciliates ( Ciliophora ). They feed largely on paramecium.

Features

Didinium is approximately oval to barrel shape, the rear end broadly rounded, flattened at the front mouth area and a short prominent cone- shaped extension.

Centered around the cell a belt pulls out two narrow rows of eyelashes, whose kinetosomes are arranged diagonally to the body axis. Another such eyelashes belt runs along the front end directly at the " shoulder " of the front edge of the mouth. The rest of the cell is largely unbewimpert.

The mouth opening is not permanent, but rather is only designed for ingestion, it can become extremely large for this purpose. The macronucleus is horseshoe shaped sausage to the contractile vacuole is at the posterior end.

Species

• Didinium aiveolatum
• Didinium armatum
• Didinium Balbiani
• Didinium chlorelligerum
• Didinium cinctum
• Didinium faurei
• Didinium gargantua
• Didinium imprint
• Didinium nasutum
• Didinium rostratum

Evidence

• Xu Kaiqin: The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta, entry to the genus Online, accessed on 13 November 2009