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Lecane sp.
A small freshwater animal in phylum Rotifera. Rotifers are named for the ciliated wheel-shaped organs near their mouth of most rotifers. The cilia move rapidly, giving the appearance of rotatin as they carry food into the mouth. Lecane has a hard, inflexible shell surrounding most of its body (loricate rotifer) and a jointed tail.
This specimen was found in a vernal pool.
All rotifers have bilateral symmetry and are, along with nematodes, pseudocoelomates. In addition to the video posted here, you can see a video I took of Lecane running into a Vorticella here: https://vimeo.com/66332939.
2 Comments
Thanks. I don't know a lot about rotifers, and feel lucky to have found one so easy to identify.
Very cool video