Introduction to the Ciliata

Introduction to the Ciliata

The Ciliata, or Ciliophora, includes about 7000 known species of some of the most complex single-celled organisms ever. They derive their name from the Latin word for "eyelash," which describes the appearance of many ciliates quite well: some or all of the surface of a ciliate is covered with relatively short, dense hairlike structures, the cilia, which beat to propel the ciliate through the water and/or to draw in food particles.

Ciliates include some of the largest free-living protists; a few genera may reach two millimeters in length. They are abundant in almost every environment with liquid water: ocean waters, marine sediments, lakes, ponds, and rivers, and even soils. Because individual ciliate species vary greatly in their tolerance of pollution, the ciliates found in a body of water can be used to gauge the degree of pollution quickly.



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Click on the buttons below to learn more about the Ciliata.



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For more information, visit the Ciliate Homepage.

The electron micrograph of Paramecium on this page was provided by BIODIDAC.

The 19th-century zoologist Rudolph Leuckart created a classic series of wall charts, now available on-line from the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Several of his images of ciliates are available; look under "Infusoria," an older name for the Ciliata.



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