''Stentor coeruleus'' is a

protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

in the family Stentoridae which is characterized by being a very large

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a differen ...

that measures 0.5 to 2 millimetres when fully extended. ''Stentor coeruleus'' specifically appears as a very large trumpet. It contains a macronucleus that looks like a string of beads that are contained within a ciliate that is blue to blue-green in color. It has the ability to contract into a ball through the contraction of its many

myoneme A myoneme (or spasmoneme) is a contractile structure found in some eukaryotic single-celled organisms, particularly ''Vorticella''. It consists of a series of protein filaments that shorten rapidly upon exposure to calcium. Although the shortening c ...

s. It has the ability to swim while both fully extended or contracted. ''Stentor coeruleus'' is known for its regenerative abilities. When this organism is cut in half, each half is able to regenerate a half-sized cell that has its normal anatomy and will look the same way it did prior to being cut. It feeds by means of cilia that carry food into the gullet.

DNA

The

genetic code The genetic code is the set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material ( DNA or RNA sequences of nucleotide triplets, or codons) into proteins. Translation is accomplished by the ribosome, which links ...

is the "universal" code, and not the usual form for ciliates. The

introns An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', i.e. a region inside a gene."The notion of the cistron .e., gene ...

are unusually small, only 15 or 16 nucleotides long.

Reproduction

''S. coeruleus'' are capable of

sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote th ...

, or conjugation, but primarily reproduce asexually by

binary fission Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1) * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q616153 Heterotrichea Species described in 1830