ecoleader11's Identifications

This is a water sample taken from the shaded area of Castor Beach. The species had the two cellulose plates and long three sharp flagellates. This species lives in aquatic environments near zooplankton of marine and freshwater ecosystems (http://tolweb.org/Dinoflagellates/2445). Most Dinoflagellates can be found on the coasts around the United States, from the east to the west. Not many Dinoflagellates are found on the inlands of continents.

Water sample taken from Proctor Spillway.

Flatworms are small, measuring around 3 to 15 mm (0.1 to 0.6 inches). They have a soft, leaf-shaped body covered by tiny hairs (cilia). Their spade-shaped head has two eyes.

They are common in many parts of the world. Most live in freshwater ponds and rivers, usually under rocks or water plants.

Valves are sigmoid. The axial area is narrow and also sigmoid, containing a sigmoid raphe. The striae are comprised of punctate areolae and form rows that are perpendicular and parallel to the apical and transapical axes. The central area is round to elliptic.

It is primarily an epipelic species that lives unattached on fine substrates. This species is considered to be globally distributed in freshwater but has also been observed in brackish habitats. Larger specimens are observed in exposed sites in a main lake basin rather than in protected embayments.