Some will also capture symbiotic algal cells which provide energy through photosynthesis. Heliozoa is "polyphyletic", meaning it is an artificial grouping of multiple taxonomic lines.
#Science #Biology

H is for Heliozoa, handsome and historic. The letter H from my Microbial Alphabet series.

@zlatogursky.bsky.social, a leading researcher of heliozoans, shared a gem in a recent exclusive interview: these underrated protists have a rare trait that could open doors in broader biological research. Don’t sleep on the heliozoa.

🔬🧪 #protistsonsky #microsky #evosky #mevosky

@amoebadiscovery.bsky.social made an iteresting interview with me about #heliozoa and #centrohelids - I think these organisms are really important, understudied and gorgeous 😍 Also lots other intresting reading and beatiful pictures! #protistsonsky link: tinyurl.com/adiscovery1

Here ostracods are clam crabs. A lot of other microorganisms have fun diminutive names like
little slipper animal (paramecium)
little eyelash animal (ciliate)
little wheel animal (rotifer)
little sun animal (heliozoa)
little bell animal (vorticella)
little trumpet animal (stentor)

time-lapse of a heliozoa i dug out of an older sample

I guess they’re still figuring out the genetic relationships between these protozoa. The radiolaria we’ve been modeling are in the Polycystinea section of this tree (published in 2004) and clathrulina is in Desmothoracida www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Twee wortelpotigen (Rhizopoda) die ik laatst in een paar waterdruppels aantrof 💦🔬

Links een levende schaalamoebe (mogelijk Physogila) die zijn pseudopodiën laat zien 🐙

Rechts een zonnediertje ☀️ (Heliozoa) die met z’n naadvormige axopodia prooien kan vangen.

Acabo de descobrir que "Heliozoa" é polifilético e dormirei chateado...