The Stentor Trumpet Animalcule

Biology
[caption id="attachment_16489" align="alignright" width="440"] Stentor roeseli[/caption] Resembling a trumpet or vase, varieties of stentor make up the largest known single-celled aquatic creature. Their name comes from the epic poem, “The Iliad,” in which Homer characterizes a herald, Stentor, as having a voice “as powerful as fifty voices of other men.” As with vorticella, the eating orifice of the trumpet animalcule is circled about with tiny hair like cilia. These hairs wave in sequence, sweeping food into its oral cavity. See the beautiful video (below), filmed by Dr. Ralf Wagner. It highlights the feeding process. In the vast majority of instances, organisms are made up of one or more cells, each with its own nucleus. The nucleus governs cell function and participates in cellular division or reproduction, providing a complete DNA…
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