Dileptus- a Highly aggressive little predator

The third instalment in the journey into Microscopy with myself and Chloé aka the Tardibabe! This time, we are meeting Dileptus. Dileptus is a carnivorous, unicellular ciliate. It has three distinct body regions, and each region has its own specialized cilia: the locomotor, the oral and the sensory region. The sensory region- located on the front of the cell- looks not unlike the trunk of an elephant, “However, this trunk is armed with structures called Extrusomes. These particular Extrusomes are filled with toxic ’Toxicysts’, Not unlike the stinging cells of a jelly fish, which are called cnidocysts“ Dileptus is an aggressive predator. It uses this highly mobile proboscis to sense the environment and to prey on other protists like flagellates and ciliates as well as small multicellular animals like worms such as flatworms and round worms, rotifers, as well as Cnidarians and mollusks! Music is @arithmetikmusiq on Instagram Footage belongs to @tardi