Observation Descriptions on Nuclearia spec.

The images above show a Nuclearia cell which has trapped a large piece of indigestible material in a vacuole. Its shininess in polarized light indicated its birefringent property. This and the fibrous structure leads to the conclusion that it is a cellulose particle. The series of images shows how the piece of cellulose was excreted. Unlike ciliates, for example, amoeboids have no special areas prepared for defecation openings, no cytoproct. Figure 1 f gives the impression that the large piece of waste affected the cell somewhat during the excretion process. In the genus Nuclearia, however, the formation of such cell appendages is not uncommon.