Video clips
Amoeba 1
Play video:
Amoeba proteus - The outstanding example of a potentially immortal
unicellular organism. It changes its shape continuously.
What at first sight seems to be a chaotic, aimleesly swelling movement turns out to be
the formation of lobopodia. Responding to a chemical stimulus it uses chemotaxis to
catch its prey, enclose it and ingest it in a food vacuole.
Amoeba 2
Play video:
Amoeba (Chaos diffluens) - Cyclosis in a pseudopod (magnification of
1000 times).
Viscous, transparent plasm is streaming, followed first by more liquid,
granular plasm and then by the nucleus, food vacuoles with ingested food particles,
and food-storing crystals.
Amoeba 3
Play video:
Arcella gibbosa - Shell-forming Amoeba (taken
laterally).
The soft plasm body is attached to the protecting cupola by plasm strings. Lobopodia
are extended through a circular opening on the underside.
Amoeba 4
Play video:
Arcella gibbosa - The circular shell with hexagonal pattern
(in top view) showing a young, still transparent specimen (with inclusion of
diatom).
Gas bubbles can be produced or sucked in to keep balancing in water.