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( Stentor (protozoa))
Stentor are a group of filter feeders and diggers, a genus of ciliate protozoa, representative of the heterotrichs. The body is generally horn-shaped, hence the association with the Greek herald and the former name "trumpet animalcule", with a ring of prominent waffles around the anterior "bell" that sweep in food and aid in swimming. Stentor are common in freshwater lakes and streams, usually attached to algae and other detritus. Some reach several millimeters in length, making them among the largest single celled organisms. Stentor can come in different colors. As in many saltwater and volatile watering holes throughout the South African safari, the stentor has a contractile vacuole. Because the concentration of salt inside the stentor and in the surrounding freshwater is different, the stentor must store water that enters it by osmosis and then discharge it from the vacuole. Stentors can regenerate, and small fragments can grow into full organisms. Stentor can live symbiotically with a species of green algae. The stentor eats the algae for nutrients and the algae makes the stentor's waste into nutrients. Stentors react to outside disturbances by contracting into a ball. Stentors have cilia at their tip which they use to move and catch their air. They are classified as heterotrophs, because they cannot make their own food. They are much different then ameoba, paramecium, and euglena.
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