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| Coleps sp. | |
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| Genus: | Coleps |
Coleps is agenus ofciliates in the classProstomatea with barrel-shaped bodies surrounded by regularly arranged plates composed of calcium carbonate.[2]
Species ofColeps can grow up to 250 μm in length, but are usually under 100 μm in their longest axis.[2]Coleps can betaxonomically distinguished by the ornamentation of theectoplasmic plates which make up theirtest.[2] These plates are located outsidealveolar vesicles of thecell cortex, and contain both organic and inorganic components, the latter of which is mostly amorphouscalcium carbonate.[3]
Coleps feeds onbacteria,algae,flagellates, living and dead ciliates, animal and plant tissues.[4]Coleps usestoxicysts, which are organelles containing poison that it uses to capture its prey from its oral area. It extrudes tube-like structures to force toxicysts into its prey and wait until its prey becomes paralyzed. These toxicysts, however, takes about 5–10 minutes to be effective on the prey of theColeps and it separates itself from the prey during this time.[4] If there are numerousColeps hunting for the same prey, someColeps will cling to its prey until the toxicysts become effective and fragment the prey, consuming only a few parts.[4]
