BIOL 332 Laboratory - Actinopods and Forams - Microscopic specimens:

NOTE: Please be very careful with the mounted specimens, especially the opaque mounts. They are damaged by heat. Some of these slides are over 100 years old. Please be very careful. None of the older material can be replaced. Please turn off lights when not in use!!!

Acantharia Make a careful composite drawing of Acanthometra. Clearly show skeleton, periplasmic cortex, myonemes, central capsule, endoplasm, nuclei symbionts.

Polycystines Draw three different Spumellarian skeletons. Draw three different Nassellarian skeletons.

Heliozoa Raphidophrys and Actinosphaerium. Examine carefully. Draw at least one.

Foramanifera Draw three different polythalmic foram skeletons.

In addition, there are some photographs (Scanning electron micrographs of actinopod skeletons. You should look at these. Be able to identify the major groups of actinopods. Some of these will be on the lab final.

1. Acanthometra, an Acantharian. Study this specimen first with 10x objective. Note arrangement of skeletal spicules. Note central capsule and periplasmic cortex. Note myonemes associated with the region in which the periplasmic cortex joins to the skeletal spicule. Then switch to 40x Note how skeletal spicules meet in the center of the organism. Note granules in the intracapsular cytoplasm. Are these granules all the same size and type? Endoplasm is supposed to contain nuclei and symbionts. Can you find them. They are there.
2. Acanthometra, an Acantharian. Study this specimen first with 10x objective. Note arrangement of skeletal spicules. Note central capsule and periplasmic cortex. Note myonemes associated with the region in which the periplasmic cortex joins to the skeletal spicule. Then switch to 40x Note how skeletal spicules meet in the center of the organism. Note granules in the intracapsular cytoplasm. Are these granules all the same size and type? Endoplasm is supposed to contain nuclei and symbionts. Can you find them. They are there.
3. Acanthometra, an Acantharian. 40x. Note nuclei and symbionts in intracapsular cytoplasm. Note central capsule and periplasmic cortex. Note myonemes associated with the region in which the periplasmic cortex joins to the skeletal spicule. Note how skeletal spicules meet in the center of the organism.
4. Acanthometra, an Acantharian. 40x. Note symbionts in endoplasm. These are the larger roundish bodies. The nuclei are the smaller stained objects. Note that the nucleus in the zooxanthella (Symbiodinium) cell near the pointer appears to be dividing!
5. (Missing) Polycystine skeletons. Array of individually mounted skeletons. Both Spumellarians and Nassellarians. Can you tell which are which? Cell #1 and cell #5 in the first row are Spumellarians. There is also a spumellarian in row 2. Can you find it? What are the others?
6. Polycystine skeletons. Array of individually mounted skeletons. Both Spumellarians and Nassellarians. Can you tell which are which? First row are all Spumellarians. Second row are all Nassellarians.
7. Polycystine skeletons from Barbados. This is how the raw material looks. It is a jumble of broken and complete skeletons. You should be able to tell which are spumellarians and which are nassellarians.
8. Polycystine skeletons from Barbados. This is how the raw material looks after acid washing. It is a jumble of broken and complete skeletons. You should be able to tell which are spumellarians and which are nassellarians.
9. Polycystine skeletons from Barbados. Opaque amount. These are selected complete skeletons. Notice the remarkable diversity of types. You should be able to tell which are spumellarians and which are nassellarians.
10.   Stylosphaera,  skeleton. A common spumellarian.
11. Comparison of Nassellarians and Spumellarian types of polycystine skeletons. Focus carefully through specimens.
12. Polycystine skeletons from Barbados. Opaque amount. These are selected complete skeletons. Notice the remarkable diversity of types. You should be able to tell which are spumellarians and which are nassellarians.
13. Astromma aristotelis a relatively rare spumellarian skeleton from Barbados.
14. Stylosphaera. Several species. A spumellarian. There are also several specimens of a "look-alike" Nassellarian. (Look at the top row carefully.)
15. Polycystine skeletons. Spumellarian type. Selected group of skeletons. Shut off light when through. This specimen has been damaged by heat. Do not make it any worse.
16. Foraminifera. Tests of polythalmic forams. Note differences in arrangement of chambers of tests and in the nature of the test material. Tests are composed of organic material and calcium carbonate in various proportions.
17. Foraminifera. Tests of polythalmic forams. Note differences in arrangement of chambers of tests and in the nature of the test material. Tests are composed of organic material and calcium carbonate in various proportions.
18. Foraminifera. Miliolina Opaque mount. Showing the calcareous tests of one of the less common planktonic forams. The test has a shiny porcellain like surface. The tests of most forams are not so smooth..
19. Foram tests and fragments from limestone. Note different polythalmic types as well as some monothalmic forms. Raw material.
20. Foram tests and fragments from limestone. Note different polythalmic types as well as some monothalmic forms. Raw material.
21. Foraminifera. Tests of Globigerina, a common oceanic planktonic polythalmic foram. These tests are a major component of limestones and other sediments from shallow seas. Note the thickness of the test wall in the older (larger) specimens.
22. Actinosphaerium, an actinophryid heliozoan. Note the clear division of the cell into ectoplasmic and endoplasmic regions. Notice the many nuclei within the endoplasm. Preservation of the axopodia is very poor in these specimens.
23. A centrohelid heliozoan (Raphidophrys sp. ?), showing numerous silica spicules at the cell surface. The axopodia are not preserved.
24. Orbitolina, a fossil foram. Note also large specimens beside microscope.
25. Triticites, a fossil foram, Pennsylvanian period.
26. Endothrya, a fossil foram. Note that this is a raw sample. Other fossils are present as well. Can you identify any?