Coleps
This is from a water sample out of a pond near the Knife
River.
Transmitted Off Crossed Circular Polarized Light Illumination
Definition/Function:
Coleps is a freshwater ciliate with an exterior amorphous calcium carbonate cage. It
feeds by boring into its food by
rotating with its "teeth" imbedded in the food source. The food source may be rotting
biological material or living organisms.
They are also parasites of game fish.
Significance in the Environment:
Characteristic Features:
Coleps (Colepidae) are barrel-shaped typically with spikes at least at the feeding end
of the structure. The barrel consists
of an amorphous form of calcium carbonate that is regularly perforated, resulting in a
cage-like structure. They range in
size from about 30 to 100 micrometers in length.
Associated Particles:
References:
Pennak, Robert W., FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATES OF THE UNITED STATES, 2nd ed.,
Wiley-Interscience, ISBN 0-471-04249-8, pp. 24 and 60, 1978.
