Parts of a Amoeba

Locomotion - Amoeba

Amoebas move changing their body from liquid to a solid in the form of pseudopods. When they want to move there pseudopods become liquid form. Then they move it in the direction of travel. After their pseudopod gets were they want it they change it into the solid form, and their body into a liquid let it catch up.

Feeding and Diet - Amoeba

Amoebas feed by moving over to their prey and then wrapping their pseudopods around it.

An amoebas diet mostly consists of:

Algae, bacteria, plant cells, protozoa and metazoa.

Habitat - Amoeba

Amoebas normally live in stagnant ponds, shallow pools, and moist dirt. They are mostly found at the bottom of the water on or around the mud. I also read about a great method of catching them on a website called Microscopy.

You will need a small jar to catch them in and a microscope to view them. Now to get started put the jar in your pond or shallow pool until it’s just above the mud at the bottom of the water, now slowly tip the jar to let out the air. When you do that it should suck some of the mud up. The amoeba will be in the mud. You may have to do this multiple times before you catch an amoeba.

Reproduction - Amoeba

Amoebas reproduce by a process called binary fission. Which basically means it splits itself into two identical copies.

Fun facts - Amoeba

1. The liquid state of an amoeba is called plasmasol, while the solid state is called plasmagel.

2. When an amoeba is startled it immediately transforms into a star shape.

3. Certain species of amoeba can produce a shell called a test that they can stay in until conditions get better.

4. Sometimes amoebas will come together to form a big blob called slime mold.

5. A species of amoeba called pelomyxa palustris can grow up to 5 million.