Müller, the first researcher to place the genus within the Linnaean system of taxonomy, adopted the name Paramecium but changed the spelling to Paramæcium. ![]() The name " Paramecium" – constructed from the Greek παραμήκης ( paramēkēs, "oblong") – was coined in 1752 by the English microscopist John Hill, who applied the name generally to "Animalcules which have no visible limbs or tails, and are of an irregularly oblong figure." In 1773, O. Joblot gave this creature the name "Chausson", or "slipper", and the phrase "slipper animalcule" remained in use as a colloquial epithet for Paramecium, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1718, the French mathematics teacher and microscopist Louis Joblot published a description and illustration of a microscopic poisson (fish), which he discovered in an infusion of oak bark in water. The earliest known illustration of a Paramecium species was published anonymously in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1703. They were probably known to the Dutch pioneer of protozoology, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and were clearly described by his contemporary Christiaan Huygens in a letter from 1678. Paramecium were among the first ciliates to be observed by microscopists, in the late 17th century. Historical background Paramecia, illustrated by Otto Müller, 1773 Earliest known illustration of Paramecium "Slipper animalcule," illustrated by Louis Joblot, 1718 The usefulness of Paramecium as a model organism has caused one ciliate researcher to characterize it as the " white rat" of the phylum Ciliophora. Because some species are readily cultivated and easily induced to conjugate and divide, they have been widely used in classrooms and laboratories to study biological processes. Paramecium are widespread in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments and are often abundant in stagnant basins and ponds. ![]() Paramecium ( / ˌ p ær ə ˈ m iː ʃ( i) ə m/ PARR-ə- MEE-sh(ee-)əm, /- s i ə m/ -see-əm, plural "paramecia" only when used as a vernacular name) is a genus of eukaryotic, unicellular ciliates, commonly studied as a model organism of the ciliate group.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |