Cephalodella forficata is a common rotifer in my sampling sites. I usually find it between floating plants. The species is easy to recognize even at small magnifications due to the conspicuous orange or reddish coloured gastric glands (s. fig. 2).

Cephalodella forficata has a retrocerebral sac which is located below the cone-shaped ganglion. Little is known about this organ. At high magnification it can be seen that it is filled with greenish colored, highly refractive vesicles (s. fig. 2). These do not fuse, but remain separate. They are directed to the front end of the head through a retrocerebral duct (s. fig. 2). If a specimen is strongly squashed, oily vesicles are released, which could be the vesicles produced in the retrocerebral sac (s. fig. 4). As the exit of the retrocerebral duct is located in the middle of the corona, it can be assumed that the substances released have something to do with food intake. It may be a kind of “saliva” that is enriched with enzymes and serves to pre-digest food.