Aren’t they the cutest little things?
These are kinds of Euglena, the weird little microscopic critters that are animals with plant-like characteristics – some of them can photosynthesize, despite swimming around with whip-like tails. The Trachelomonas also have hard shells, making them a little harder for less sunshiny critters to swallow.
This snapshot is from The Micrographic Dictionary; a guide to the examination and investigation of the structure and nature of microscopic objects, a book which seems to have something to do with microscopes, doesn’t it? It’s snipped from a page that’s crowded with all kinds of protozoans.