The microscopic giant that treats its own offspring as a casual snack
In short: Meet the Collotheca, a sessile rotifer that builds a gelatinous home and waits for prey to drift into its trap. This video explores the feeding habits of this unique creature, revealing the surprising and often ruthless reality of life in the microscopic world.
The Collotheca is a stationary rotifer that lives either alone or in spherical colonies attached to a substrate. It constructs a protective gelatinous tube, retreating inside whenever it senses a disturbance. When conditions are safe, the organism extends, opening its infundibulum like a blossom to feed.
At the edge of this structure, ciliae sweep food particles into a mouth located at the base. This process, captured under 200x magnification, highlights the specialized anatomy these creatures use to survive. The Collotheca's behavior, including the consumption of its own kind, illustrates the intense competition for resources within its tiny, hidden ecosystem.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Collotheca Doesn’t Mind Eating Its Own Babies
- Also: Molecular Expressions Digital Video Gallery: Pond Life - Collotheca (Rotifera) Video No. 1
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