Where can I find out how many cells an amoeba has?
Amoeba is a term used either to describe protists that move by crawling via pseudopods, or to refer to a genus that includes species that move by this mechanism. It is a one-celled organism. the past, it was believed that organisms moving via pseudopods were closely related. However, it is now understood that many different unrelated organisms have evolved to shed their external structure and “taken up the amoeboid way of life”. Because of this, classifying all these organisms together because of their method of locomotion would be similar to classifying all flying and gliding animals in a single group. Still, because the means of locomotion is one of the easiest traits to identify upon microscopy, the broader sense of the term has endured. There are many closely related terms that can be the source of confusion: “Amoeba” is a genus that includes species such as Amoeba proteus Amoebidae is a family that includes the Amoeba genus, among others. Amoebozoa is a kingdom that includes the A
The Amoeba cell’s organelles and cytoplasm are enclosed by a cell membrane, obtaining its food through phagocytosis. Amoebae have a single large tubular pseudopod at the anterior end, and several secondary ones branching to the sides. The most famous species, Amoeba proteus, is 700-800 μm in length but the species Amoeba dubia is as large as a millimeter, and visible to the naked eye. Its most recognizable features include one or more nuclei and a simple contractile vacuole to maintain osmotic equilibrium. Food enveloped by the amoeba is stored and digested in vacuoles. Amoebae, like other single-celled eukaryotic organisms, reproduce asexually via mitosis and cytokinesis, not to be confused with binary fission, which is how prokaryotes (bacteria) reproduce. In cases where the amoeba are forcibly divided, the portion that retains the nucleus will survive and form a new cell and cytoplasm, while the other portion dies. Amoebas also have no definite shape.[7] Sources:
One of the most enigmatic microscopic life forms is the amoeba. Almost everyone knows what amoeba are, which is quite remarkable since they are not that common. Microorganisms like rotifers are much easier to find but drop the name ‘rotifer’ in a conversation and most people will not know what you are talking about. But mention the word ‘amoeba’ and people will say: ‘Yes, you mean those critters that can take any shape they like!’ They are legendary as the ultimate ‘shape shifters’. Despite their good publicity they remain much of a mystery. It is even quite hard to find them. They are easily overlooked since they are so transparent or not recognized as living organisms since they often resemble decaying organic remains. Some time ago I was asked if I could produce a series of images of microorganisms such as the Hydra, Paramecium and an Amoeba. I had to confess that I had never photographed an amoeba. So I tried to find out how to catch them. I read about the following method: Hold a
