Plankton and Protozoa

[bmathison1972]

Giant amoeba (WizKids), height about 2 in. or 5 cm.
This is a collectible miniature from a game by WizKids called HorrorClix, available as an individual figure on eBay.


The card says that the amoeba represents an alien beast.


The rescued victim has been pried loose from the green plastic with a knife.
The scarcity of protozoan figures can lead to acts of recklessness. 
Now the giant amoeba may be identified as Chaos carolinense.


Comparison with Amoeba proteus (EISCO) shows that the pseudopods of Chaos carolinense are more pointed than they should be.

Nice! With the removal of the distracting human this becomes a valid figure 

[stemturtle]

Bmathison, glad that you did not say that I'm the one who came unglued. 

[bmathison1972]

Bmathison, glad that you did not say that I'm the one who came unglued. 

haha I am looking into getting it myself (assuming I can cut out that human)

[brontodocus]

Aaah! It's The Blob! And it eats people. At least partially, look, his hands and feet have already been digested!

[Jetoar]

Really cool and educative. I Would have to see it in my school when I was a child.

[stemturtle]

Sargassum seaweed (fish removed), Kaiyodo Aquatales Series 2

Sargassum is a brown algae, like kelp, supergroup SAR (Stramenopiles, Alveolates, Rhizaria), a Stramenopile.
Previously classified in kingdom Protista.


Source of the seaweed: Sargassum fish, Histrio histrio

[widukind]

Interesting

[stemturtle]

Protists by Shapeways

Coccolithophore, diatom, dinoflagellate, foraminiferan, radiolarian



Coccolithus pelagicus, Shapeways by Ontogenie, 1.6 in. or 4.2 cm.
Unpainted to suggest chalk.
Coccolithophore, sister group to SAR, Haptophyta
These algae are protected by calcium carbonate plates that sink to lock carbon in the deep ocean, helping to reduce global warming. The White Cliffs of Dover, England are chalk beds that were formed by coccoliths during the Cretaceous.



Navicula bullata, Shapeways by orbyt design, 1.8 in. or 4.6 cm.
Frosted ultra detail.
Diatom, supergroup SAR, Stramenopiles
Abundant, photosynthetic algae, with a cell wall made of silica, are significant for oxygen production and are a foundation in many food chains.



Karenia brevis, Shapeways by Marine Microalgae Research Associates, 2.0 in. or 5.1 cm.
Dinoflagellate, supergroup SAR, Alveolates
Spinning with two flagella, these photosynthetic protists can overpopulate to create algal blooms called red tides, frequent in the Gulf of Mexico. Neurotoxins can kill marine organisms and poison humans who eat contaminated shellfish.



Lenticulina (syn. Cristellaria) calcar, Shapeways by Ontogenie, 2 in. or 5 cm.
Identification of this species is based on a drawing by Ernst Haeckel. The underside of the figure has not been sculpted in 3-D. The loop for a necklace has been removed.
Foraminifera, supergroup SAR, Rhizaria
Forams are amoebas with a calcium carbonate shell and thin pseudopodia, symbiotic with algae, and also feed on smaller microorganisms. Fossils are used for biostratigraphy, important in the exploration for oil.



Acrosphaera sp., Shapeways by BioLogic, 2 in. or 5 cm.
Radiolaria, supergroup SAR, Rhizaria
These amoebas with a silica skeleton and needle-like pseudopodia often contain symbiotic algae. Crushed shells of radiolarians form an ooze on the ocean floor and contribute to sandy beaches.


See a classification of Protista by supergroups posted by Mark Cooper, Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA.

[bmathison1972]

thanks stemturtle; I never thought about Shapeways for protists!

By the way, here is a great reference for protest/eukaryotic classification and is what we are adopting in the clinical realm:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2012.00644.x/full

[stemturtle]

thanks stemturtle; I never thought about Shapeways for protists!

By the way, here is a great reference for protest/eukaryotic classification and is what we are adopting in the clinical realm:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2012.00644.x/full

Bmathison1972, thanks for the reference on classification. I like the promotion of Amoebozoa and Opisthokonta, changing the tally from 4 to 5 supergroups. Most recent revisions seem to accept this taxonomy. The image of a tree of life (figure 1) in the article shows that placement of many groups requires further research.

[widukind]

Very nice too

[stemturtle]

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba [ID is speculative], (Burger King kids meal toy), 2011, the larger krill is about 2.4 in. or 6.1 cm.


Posterior view. The characters, Rockin' Will and Bill from Happy Feet Two, perform a rocking motion when the levers beneath are squeezed together.

Krill are small shrimp-like crustaceans in class Malacostraca, but are not decapods, classified as a sister group in superorder Eucarida. Here we list them on the plankton thread, although they are correctly called plankton only while larvae. Adult length is 2.4 in., similar to the figures. The Antarctic krill have perhaps the largest total biomass of any species, food for whales, seals, penguins, and other predators.

We can appreciate that this important crustacean is represented by a toy, even though we prefer 3D figures instead of 2D. Purchased on eBay.

[bmathison1972]

Three protozoans as pressed-glass figurines. Normally I do not collect glass figurines, but as a parasitologist, human parasite figures cannot be ignored. These were bought on Etsy from Trilobite Glassworks.

left to right: Giardia duodenalis (syn. G. intestinalis, G. lamblia) (trophozoite), Trichomonas vaginalis (trophozoite), Toxoplasma gondii (tachyzoite)

[stemturtle]

Plankton Keychain & Magnifier (Epoch)


Euglena, Vorticella, Sea sparkle, Horseshoe worm

The Ecology of Plankton (Epoch), released in 2004, was reviewed by bmathison1972. The same ten figures were released in 2007, each with a loop attached to a keychain and magnifier.

Thanks to Beetle guy for sending me four of the species after a year of searching, shown here removed from the chains.

[Beetle guy]

Glad they arrived!

[bmathison1972]

Plankton Keychain & Magnifier (Epoch)


Euglena, Vorticella, Sea sparkle, Horseshoe worm

The Ecology of Plankton (Epoch), released in 2004, was reviewed by bmathison1972. The same ten figures were released in 2007, each with a loop attached to a keychain and magnifier.

Thanks to Beetle guy for sending me four of the species after a year of searching, shown here removed from the chains.

These were offered for sale to me, but since they appeared to be the same as the main set, I decided to leave them for someone else. Glad they went to you stemturtle!!!!

[stemturtle]

These were offered for sale to me, but since they appeared to be the same as the main set, I decided to leave them for someone else. Glad they went to you stemturtle!!!!

Bmathison1972, I appreciate your consideration.
"We are a friendly and open community..." 

[sbell]

These were offered for sale to me, but since they appeared to be the same as the main set, I decided to leave them for someone else. Glad they went to you stemturtle!!!!

Bmathison1972, I appreciate your consideration.
"We are a friendly and open community..." 

That's crazy that the figures were released...with loops! Of course, the first version had goo in a jar, so clearly that was a period of 'experimentation' from Epoch!

[brontodocus]

Awesome, James, congrats! I think I didn't have any idea about their size so thanks for showing them together with the Schleich man for comparison!

[stemturtle]

Comb jelly, species not identified, (Dynasty Gallery)

This laser-etched crystal has a diameter of about 3 inches.  It demonstrates how sampling diverse taxa can take us beyond animal toys and into the realm of collectibles.
Ctenophora is a small phylum, lacking the stinging nematocysts of the cnidarian jellyfish. Comb jellies are largely ignored by toy manufacturers, with the exception of
Fisher Price .

I wonder if the artist might have been inspired by the sea walnut, Mnemiopsis leidyi. Length of that species is about 4 inches or 10 cm. When disturbed, the rows of ciliated combs glow blue-green.

Available on Amazon.