This very small and little known amoeba was photographed some 12 months ago. It seems to glide along the substrate effortlessly like a ghost. The large granular lump is surrounded by the very thin hyaline sheet. Only by using phase contrast and Nomarski objectives was it possible to pick out this very small amoeba from the background detritus. Photograph of an amoeba proteus showing nucleus and food vacuole.
Phase contrast is superb for bringing the detail out in amoeba .
Some amoeba can reach about 2mm in length and can be seen with the naked eye. The best place to find these creatures is where there is plenty of detritus, leave the slide to settle for a few minutes and they should start to push out their psuedopodia. X25 Nomarski objective. If the spines are stiff then it is reasonable to say that it is a heliozoan. These animals can also roll along using there spines to move with ease looking for prey.