Stentor

Stentor

Greek herald with voice of 50 men. [Gk. Myth.: Espy, 39]

See : Loudness

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Stentor

a genus of protozoans of the class Infusoria, suborder Heterotricha. The organisms measure as much as 1 mm in length. The genus embraces more than ten species. The funnel-shaped body has an enlarged anterior end with highly developed circumoral membranellae that direct the flow of food particles to the mouth opening. The rest of the body is covered with longitudinal rows of tiny cilia.

Members of the genus are capable of contracting sharply and assuming a spherical shape by means of contractile filaments (myonemes). They can swim freely or attach themselves to a substrate by their narrowed posterior end. They inhabit seas and fresh waters. The freshwaters protozoan S. coeruleus is light blue. Some species, such as S. polymorphus, have numerous symbiontic single-celled algae in their cytoplasm.