Amoebae, being
living creatures, have to eat somehow. And the way
they do it is fascinating. Hey, what do amoebae eat
anyway? Basically, anything smaller than itself, such
as bacteria, voritcella, ciliale and tetrahymena.
Don't ask. But, an amoeba proteus will never eat
another amoeba proteus. Click here
to find out why. When there is lots of food nearby the
amoeba, it will stop moving, and extend psuedopods, or
false feet, all around their body, as a trap for the
food. When a creature gets close to the amoeba, the
amoeba will form itself around its prey. The amoeba
may also extend another psuedopod over its pocket, or
food cup, that the food is stored in, so it can't get
out. This food cup then moves to the middle of the
amoeba, where chemicals flow into the pocket. The
useful parts of the food flow into the body. When the
only remains of the food is waste, the non-solids move
up to the amoeba's membrane, and leaves the creature's
body through a small hole. The solids turn into
crystals. After the waste liquid exits the hole, then
it closes up. If some water gets through the hole, the
membrane will drain it out. Amoebae can't get rid of
waste. The only way to get rid of it is to divide into
two creatures, which is explained later. Each half of
the amoeba gets the waste. When the amoeba is
low on food, it goes out hunting. If there is no food
for several days, the amoeba will die. Sometimes the
amoeba will have to hunt for a few hours. Since the
amoeba's lifespan (which is the time before the amoeba
splits), is only two days, a few hours is a very long
time. Amoebae can also
drink. If an amoeba is placed inside a solution of
protein extracted from blood, it will drink it by
forming tiny pockets on the outer membrane with a
small channel inside the amoeba. The channel brakes
off into two vain-like things, and the proteins are
carried into the cytoplasm of the amoeba. This process
is called pinocytosis, which means, 'cell drinking.'
Cells inside of your body are always doing
this. Below are a few
pictures showing how amoebae eat. The way they do is
very fascinating. He goes in for it... He chomps the
vorticella.. *Gulp* That was good! Now moving
on to dessert...
Here we go
again.
