Trichamoeba sinuosa
Siemensma & Page, 1986
Most likely ID: n.a.
Synonym: n.a.
Sampling location: Simmelried
Phylogenetic tree: Trichamoeba sinuosa
Diagnosis:
- body and movement mainly monopodial
- typical zig-zag movement
- length 125–325 µm
- uroid bulbuous or short villi, rarely smooth
- nucleus with ring of peripherally nucleoli, diameter 14–27 µm
- scattered bipiramidal crystals in cytoplasm
- one contractile vacuole, mainly in posterior third
So far I have only found one specimen of Trichamoeba sinuosa between decomposing plant masses in the Simmelried. Siemensma (1987), on the other hand, describes this amoeba as common, although he found his specimens in a heavily eutrophic channel.
The freely moving specimen usually moved monopodially. Only rarely were two, at most three pseudopodia formed, but these were quickly melted away again when a new direction of locomotion was found. The main characteristic of Trichamoeba sinuosa is the striking shape of the nucleus. Clod-shaped nucleoli gather in the periphery of the nucleus, giving the impression of a ring-shaped arrangement in optical section (s. figs. 1 c and 2). My specimen formed a clearly bulbous uroid (s. fig. 1 c). Many bipyramidal crystals are scattered in the cytoplasm. They were 1–3.5 µm long, although they were more like truncated bipyramidal crystals.
More images and information on Trichamoeba sinuosa: Ferry Siemensma-Microworld-Trichamoeba sinuosa
Fig. 1 a-c: Trichamoeba sinuosa. L = 170 µm. A specimen in mainly monopodial movement. Note the bulbuos uroid (UR). CV = contractile vacuole, Nu = nucleus. Obj. 60 X.
Fig. 2: Trichamoeba sinuosa. The slightly squashed specimen as shown in fig. 1 a-c. Note the nucleus (Nu) with a ring-shaped arrangement of nucleoli. The diameter of the nucleus is 20 µm. Obj. 100 X.
Fig. 3: Trichamoeba sinuosa. The scattered bipiramidal crystals (CR) in the cytoplasm have a length of 1–3.5 µm. Many mitochondria (Mit) with a length of about 2 µm are also visibile. Obj. 100 X.