''Kamera lens'' is a unicellular,

flagellate A flagellate is a cell or organism with one or more whip-like appendages called flagella. The word ''flagellate'' also describes a particular construction (or level of organization) characteristic of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes and the ...

organism and the only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in the genus ''Kamera''. Though the species has been known for centuries, it is poorly understood. Its systematic position within the Eukaryota is uncertain.

Anatomy, nutrition and reproduction

''Kamera lens'' is a free-living, swimming,

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

ic organism. It is 6 to 7 by 2.5 to 3 micrometers on averageH. M. Woodcock: ''Observations on Coprozoic Flagellates: Together with a Suggestion as to the Significance of the Kinetonucleus in the Binucleata'', In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Vol. 207, 1916, p. 395-397 and ovate. The base of both its long

flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

is below the tip (subapical). There is only one

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

. Ultrastructural characters are not known.David J. Patterson, Naja Vors, Alastair G.B. Simpson, Charles O. Kelly: ''Residual Free-Living And Predatory Heterotrophic Flagellates'' In: Residual Free-Living And Predatory Heterotrophic Flagellates In: Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa, 2nd Edition. Vol. 2, Society of Protozoologists, Lawrence, Kansas 2000, , p. 1302-1328. ''Kamera lens'' lives as a saprobiont and can be found in

hay infusion Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

William Saville Kent William Saville-Kent (10 July 1845 – 11 October 1908) was an English marine biologist and author. Early life Born in the town of Sidmouth in Devon, South West England on 10 July 1845, William Saville-Kent was the son of Samuel Saville Kent ( ...

reported spore-masses of it in such an infusion in 1880.William Saville Kent: ''A manual of the infusoria, including a description of all known flagellate, ciliate, and tentaculiferous protozoa, British and foreign and an account of the organization and affinities of the sponges'', Vol. 1, 1880, p. 135-142

Taxonomy and history

The first valid description (as ''Monas lens'') was published by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1773.Otto Friedrich Müller:
Vermivm Terrestrium Et Fluviatilium, Seu Animalium Infusoriorum, Helminthicorum Et Testaceorum, Non Marinorum, Succincta Historia
', Vol. 1, Ps. 1, Leipzig 1773, p. 26 William Saville Kent placed it in the genus ''

Heteromita Cercomonads are small flagellates, widespread in aqueous habitats and common in soils. Characteristics The cells are generally around 10 μm in length, without any shell or covering. They produce filose pseudopods to capture bacteria, but do n ...

'' in 1880. Edwin Klebs moved it to ''

Bodo Bodo may refer to: Ethnicity * Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India * Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people Culture and language * Boro cu ...

'' in 1892, but this was rejected by H.M. Woodcock, who removed the species from ''Bodo'' and made it the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

of ''Heteromastix''. David J. Patterson and Michael Zölffel found Woodcock's description to be insufficient and established the genus ''Kamera'' for ''Kamera lens'' in 1991, creating a play on words in the binomial's resemblance to "camera lens". Due to lacking ultrastructural or molecular biological data, the species' rank is uncertain; thus it is placed as ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' in the Eukaryota. This species has been provisionally placed in the

Ochrophyta The ochrophytes, subphylum Ochrophytina, is a group of mostly photosynthesis, photosynthetic heterokonts. Their plastid is of Red algae, red algal origin. The classification of the group is still being worked out. Originally, the ochrophytes we ...

. The taxonomy of this group is currently under revision so the position of the genus ''Kamera'' should not be regarded as being settled at the moment.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q288807 Enigmatic eukaryote taxa