''Epistylis'' is a genus of usually colonial
peritrich
The peritrichs (Latin: Peritrichia) are a large and distinctive group of ciliates.
The peritrichs were first defined by Friedrich von Stein in 1859. Initially they were considered spirotrichs, then treated as a separate category, before receivi ...
ciliate
The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...
s with a short
oral disc
The word oral may refer to:
Relating to the mouth
* Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid
**Oral administration of medicines
** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or oral ...
and collar, and a rigid stalk.
The rigid stalk differentiates ''Epistylis'' from the very similar genus ''
Carchesium'' in which the stalks are contractile like those in ''
Vorticella
''Vorticella'' is a genus of bell-shaped ciliates that have stalks to attach themselves to substrates. The stalks have contractile myonemes, allowing them to pull the cell body against substrates. The formation of the stalk happens after the fr ...
.
References
Oligohymenophorea
Ciliate genera
Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
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