Floscularia ringens

Floscularia ringens is a species of rotifer belonging to the subclass Monogononta, which resides in a tube that it builds using many little circular pellets consisting of bacteria and small pieces of detritus.[1]

Floscularia ringens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Rotifera
Class:
Eurotatoria
Order:
Flosculariaceae
Family:
Flosculariidae
Genus:
Floscularia
Species:
F. ringens
Binomial name
Floscularia ringens

The name Floscularia was inspired by the flower-like shape of the organism.[2]

Floscularia ringens grows to around 1.5 millimeters long and resides in freshwater locations, where it makes its small tube by connecting to the bottom of the leaves of water lilies.[3] It retreats into its tube when it is bothered.[4]

Feeding behavior

Floscularia ringens brings in food using water currents made with quickly moving cilia.[5] The quick, simultaneous movement of the two lobes consisting of cilia looks like little turning wheels.[5]

Reproduction and development

Adult Floscularia ringens make parthenogenetic eggs that are kept in the tube.[1] After the eggs hatch, the young stay in the maternal tube for a little time to finish developing before swimming off.[1] A young Floscularia ringens has a cone-shaped body, short foot, little corona, and mastax with trophi, but it still seems to not be able to eat.[1] In less than one day, the young Floscularia ringens makes a lasting connection to a substrate.[1] Its corona now has four lobes, and the foot lengthens.[1] After the corona develops the Floscularia ringens starts to eat through making currents, and it also begins to create its tube.[1]

Moment of fame

A close-up image of Floscularia ringens came first place in the 2011 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition that presents movies and photographs of life science images.[6] The photograph depicts Floscularia ringens' feeding method, showing its quickly moving cilia which pulls in water consisting food.[7] Charles Krebs, the photographer of this image of Floscularia ringens, had his picture chosen out of the 2,000 submissions to the 2011 competition, earning him Olympus imaging equipment valued at $5,000.[6] Charles Krebs captured his photograph of Floscularia ringens using a method called differential interference contrast microscopy.[7]

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References
  1. Diego Fontaneto, Giulio Melone & Robert L. Wallace (2003). "Morphology of Floscularia ringens (Rotifera, Monogononta) from egg to adult". Invertebrate Biology. 122 (3): 231–240. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7410.2003.tb00087.x.
  2. "Floscularia - one more famous marvel of pond life"
  3. "BioScapes: the beauty of nature"
  4. "LM of sessile Floscularia ringen"
  5. "Floscularia Ringens"
  6. "Tiny critter becomes a big wheel"
  7. ""Mr. Charles Krebs"". Archived from the original on 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
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