Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 4151

Gregory Gaines and F.J.R. Taylor; Form and Function of the Dinoflagellate Transverse Flagellum. J.Protozool. 32(2):290-296, 1985

Reprint

In File

Notes

A reexamination of the dinoflagellate transverse flagellum in relation to swimming in more than 50 species, using a television recording system, has revealed the following new facts: the flagellar beat always proceeds counterclockwise when seen from the cell apex; the cell always rotates in the direction of the flagellar beat, and fluid is propelled in the opposite direction. These observations can be explained by the actions of flagellar mastigonemes not included in previous models. The shape of the flagellar wave is not isotropic. New explanations are offered for other morphological features of the cell as they relate to swimming.