Stentor coeruleus under the Microscope

Stentor coeruleus is a relatively large ciliated protozoan known for its trumpet-like shape. They can change their shape from a trumpet to a ball and are very flexible. They use their cilia to swim around and to draw in food into their mouths.

Stentor can be found in several freshwater environments. Large individuals about 0.5 - 2 mm long can actually be seen with the naked eye. They are about the size of this period.

I used two microscopes recorded through a Nikon D3300 DSLR camera.

Leica ATC 2000 - 40X, 100X, 400X, 1000X
American Optical One - Ten microscope - 150X, 600X, 1500X

The microscope magnification of each shot is shown in the bottom right-hand corner.