Adineta vaga DAVIS 1873
Adineta vaga is a very common bdelloid found in many samples from soil and mosses in our region. It often occurs together with other Adineta species like A. steineri. (1)
This species is the first where the (horizontal) transfer fof genes from other organisms has been proven. Evidence for this is given here: http://www.spektrum.de/artikel/957814&_z=798888
Adineta vaga: head in two different focal planes, ventral view. The ventral side of the head is covered with cilia (ciliary field) which accomplish the moving of the rotifer. left image: bristles at the lamella of the rostrum (yellow arrows). The red arrows point to the cingulum. Right image: the arrows point to the 4 or 5 "U-hooks" on each side that act like rakes by scraping over the surface and gathering bacteria. (1)
Adineta vaga: another specimen, focus plane on the ciliary field and the rakes.(2)
Adineta vaga: same specimen, focus plane on the dorsal side of the head.(2)
Adineta vaga, specimen from Bonampak, Mexico (3)
Adineta vaga, ventral view; focal plane on the ciliary field with 5 U-hooks (3)
Adineta vaga, ventral view; crop of the above image (3)
Adineta vaga, this image from a specimen vital-stained with Neutral Red shows the cuticularized prehensile apparatus (rake apparatus) with 5? denticles on each of the two rakes. (4). Personal observations suggest that the number of these structures may be species-specific and therefore should be counted by a standardized method. In the literature up to now the terminology is not clear. Because the basal structures (called "U-hooks" by Donner (1965), arrowheads) are resistant to treatment with SDS or NaOCl they can be precisely counted. The distal structures (here called "denticles") dissolve pretty fast in NaOCl. These are named differently in the literature. It is not clear if the authors made the sum of the marginal "denticles" (here marked with a "?", because they may be considered actually as the margins of the basal plate) and the inner denticles (marked by arrows), if they gave a number at all. Therefore numbers given in the literature cannot be used as a reference. Given that there are more than 50 "cryptic species" in "Adineta vaga" one should not be surprised that the number of U-hooks (NoUH) is 5 for the specimen shown here, whereas it is 4 for the first specimen on this page. (For Adineta barbata NoUH is 8 and for A. steineri NoUH is 9).
Adineta vaga, series of 3 optical sections through the head from dorsal to ventral side; the images show the hypodermic cells with their nuclei.
Adineta vaga, specimen with parasites
 
Adineta vaga, specimen with a "beard" which seems to be fungi or bacteria (6)
 
 
Location: Gevelsberg, Stefansbachtal Schulzentrum, Gruenes Klassenzimmer (1) Bonampak, Mexico (3); Hattingen Oberstueter (4),(5); Quimper, Brittany, France, Frugy park (6)
Habitat: Moss on tree (Salix) (1,3); moss on roof (4); moss on sandstone (5); moss (6)
Date: 17.8. 2008 (1) 1.3.2014 (3); 02.11.2014 (4); 07.02.2016 (5); coll. : 14.08.2019; img.: 10.12.2019 (6)
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