WunderkanoneExploring the Microscopic World
Mastigamoeba
Mastigamoeba aspera
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Mastigamoeba aspera (Schulze, 1875) is a very interesting little amoeba that lives in the depth of organics-rich silts of freshwater habitats. Mastigamoeba aspera has rod shaped bacteria that live as ektosymbionts in a rich glycocalix surrounding the plasma membran.
M. aspera has a vesicular nucleus with a oval shaped nucleolus. The body contains yellow and orange granules. There are mono- as well as multinucleate forms. Only mononucleate forms have a long flagella (approx. 100 µm) at the anterior end. The flagella basal apparatus is located on top of the nuclear envelope (Karyomastigote).
M. aspera is 35-100 µm in length and 20-40 µm in width.