The 21st chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Contractible trumpets”.
Stentor is a very special ciliate. Its trumpet-like shape, with the ciliated Crown on its anterior region, makes him easily recognizable, and its size (can reach 2 mm in length) makes him stand out from the other tiny protozoans. One of the more studied characteristics of Stentor is its extraordinary speed of contraction, measured in about 15 milliseconds. Such amazing speed of contraction allows Stentor to literally disappear when some danger is detected in the surroundings of the cell.
This is the 21st chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.
We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.
Science into Images’s team.