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Paramecium is a unicellular ciliate with a shape resembling a slipper. Although Paramecium is small and has only one cell, it can do everything that a living creature can do: Paramecium can swim, digest food, and reproduce. Paramecium’s cell contains several complex organelles performing specific functions to make its survival possible.
Paramecium collects foods via its mouth, called the oral groove. The food materials enter the cell body and then are digested in food vacuoles. Paramecia eat other microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, and algae. Paramecium constantly moves by beating rows of microscopic hairs, called cilia. The cilia of paramecium move like many tiny oars, propelling the organism through the water at a rate that is “four times its body length per second”. That said, if a paramecium is as tall as a human being, it can swim four times faster than Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps!* |
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*Information from: Rachel; Paramecium; https://rsscience.com/microscopic-organisms-pond-water/#Paramecium
