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A newfound amoeba species whose funnel shape - mold casing resembles a wizard ’s lid has been key after one of the most famous warlock : Gandalf , of J.R.R. Tolkien ’s " The Lord of the Rings " trilogy .
The blob - like aquatic creature now goes by the scientific nameArcella gandalfi .
A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the amoeba’s “hat."
" Modern amoeba species are very seldom discovered because they ’re so tiny and not widely study , " study principal investigator Daniel J. G. Lahr , an assistant professor of zoological science at the University of São Paulo in Brazil , said in a affirmation .
Most amoeba are single - celled being that sort of crawl to get around . The newly identifiedA.gandalfiis a camoeba , a type of amoeba that can produce a carapacearound its subdued eubstance . [ Extreme Life on Earth : 8 Bizarre Creatures ]
The uncovering occur after Lahr start receiving reports of the amoeba ’s existence in bodies of freshwater in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais , Tocantins , Paraná and Amapá , and the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro .
Ian McKellen as Gandalf in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
However , the specimens from these regions were so small , it was nearly insufferable to prove their anatomy and determine whether they belonged to a new species , Lahr said .
Luckily , Lahr got a little help from a friend — Jordana de Carvalho east Féres , a life scientist who works for an environmental consultant house in Espírito Santo . She had a sample from Rio de Janeiro with 180 specimens and another sample distribution from Amapá , and say she could use her expertise inidentifying zooplankton , petite free - float marine organisms , to help classify the new critter .
The two agreed to analyse the ameba in Lahr ’s lab in São Paulo , where they could use innovative microscopy and cooperator with other university researchers .
While the newfoundArcella gandalfilooks like Gandalf’s hat (upper left), other amoebae from theArcellagenus look like other types of hats.Arcella brasiliensis(top right) is thought to be closely related toA. gandalfi. The amoebaeArcella intermedia(bottom right) andArcella laevis(bottom left) show the diversity of shell shapes that these single-celled organisms can create.
" We come after in isolate the being from the samples , do all [ of ] the necessary measurements and produced image to make certain it really was a new species , " Lahr say .
In the ending , they found that the funnel shape ofA. gandalfiwas unparalleled in the genusArcella , one of thelargest chemical group of amoebaewith carapaces that originate in wetland , moist soil and bog , he say .
Hats off
A. gandalfiis an itty - bitty creature . It ranges in color from lightheaded yellow to brown , and its shell has a diameter of 0.0032 in ( 81 micrometers ) and a height of 0.0028 inches ( 71 micrometers ) .
Despite its narrow sizing , A. gandalfiis look at large for a single - celled organism , especially one in the genusArcella . There are about 200Arcellaspecies , and most are half that size . " It ’s just one cell , and yet it ’s capable of ramp up thisfunnel - shaped carapace , " Lahr tell .
It look thatA. gandalfilives only in South America , he tell . The amoeba is so unique that he and his confrere are calling it a flagship mintage — a primal coinage for a home ground that can serve as an icon of an environmental suit , just as the polar bear has become a symbol for clime change .
However , despite the amoeba ’s exceeding " wizard ’s chapeau " shield , it ’s not well-defined whyA. gandalfi , — or other ameba , for that subject — make carapaces . One idea is that amoeba make these structures to protect themselves against predator . [ 5 Key Facts About wit - Eating Amoeba ]
But Lahr said he does n’t find this melodic theme convincing . " The camoebians are strongly predated , and we often find their shell have by a year ofprotozoanscalled ciliated protozoan , for example , " he said . " For these micro-organism , the shell is not protective like armour metal plating , as it is in the guinea pig of arthropods [ such as insects and arachnids ] , which are predate on by animals of the same size . "
Rather , the shield might protect against xerotes . These amoebae are often leave gamy and juiceless when water degree fluctuate , and the shield probably helps them stay moist , Lahr say .
" We think they ’re capable to keep a humid microenvironment inside the shell when it ’s dry outside , by storing even a flyspeck amount of water , " Lahr said .
The carapace might also screen the puppet fromultraviolet ( UV ) radiation .
" Their habitats are aquatic , and they ’re often expose to sunshine , so protection against UV rays must be a very important element , " Lahr noted . " A multicellular organism has a number of protective barrier against UV irradiation , include a layer of keratin , as well as skin pigment . In the case of single - cell organisms like amoebae , their deoxyribonucleic acid is fundamentally exposed . "
The fresh identified being is n’t the only new tool that looks like a chapeau . In December 2016 , researchers formally gave ahat - shaped wanderer the nameEriovixia gryffindori , because it count like the Sorting Hat from J.K. Rowling ’s " Harry Potter " serial .
The findings were publish online in December 2016 in thejournal Acta Protozoologica .
Original article onLive Science .
