Paramecium (genus)
There are many different species of paramecium. They are difficult to tell apart.
Paramecium (genus)
There are many different species of paramecium. They are difficult to tell apart.
Paramecium, like all
protists,
are single-celled organisms. Cells
are the building blocks for all life forms. "Single-celled"
means that a paramecium has only one cell for its entire
body. Most plants and animals have more cells than you can
count. The inside of a
paramecium is a jelly-like fluid called protoplasm. Bits of
food and other materials float around in the
protoplasm. Paramecium are so tiny
that you need a microscope to see them. They live in water,
including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and puddles. Some
can even live in the bodies of animals or in moist
soil. Pratt It may be difficult to
see in the pictures, but Paramecium have tiny hair-like
things, called cilia, all around the outside of their cell.
Cilia are important, because they are how Paramecium move.
By beating the cilia back and forth, the Paramecium can move
through the water. Protists with cilia, such as Paramecium,
move much faster than other protists. Like other protists,
Paramecium usually attach themselves to the bottom of the
pond or stream, or to a plant. Sometimes they "swarm." That
means they all let go and swim around until they find a new
place to attach. Paramecium reproduce by a
process called binary fission. This means the Paramecium can
split in half and become two new Paramecium. Paramecium eat
algae,
bacteria, other protozoans, dead plant and animal
matter,
and other tiny animals. They have something similar to a
mouth, called a cytostome, to let food items into their
bodies. Some types of green algae
can live inside the protoplasm of a Paramecium. Here, it
takes nutrients
from the Paramecium, but it also gives important nutrients
as well. Copyright, Biology
Learning Center, Grand Rapids Community College Y. Tsukii Paramecium are eaten by
other protists, as well as animals that eat plankton
(microscopic organisms in the water), such as water fleas
and mussels.
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Relationships in Nature:
Bacteria
Relationship to Humans:
Paramecium are helpful by controlling algae, bacteria, and other protists. They also help clean up tiny particles of debris in the water, and they feed small animals. Paramecium can also live inside human bodies, and some can cause illness.