The Blepharisma is a rather large, common protozoan and belongs to the Phyllum Ciliophora. It is from 150-300 um long and is rose colored.

Under bright light, it becomes colorless. It is an interesting ciliate to watch and is easily observed.

Blepharisma eat smaller ciliates and euglena and have been noted to be cannibals.

They are readily available from science supply companies, hold up well in the classroom and make good Ciliophora specimens. To observe them closely, add bits of cotton fiber to your sample to trap and localize a specimen.

These Blepharisma images and the vidieo below were captured by Noah Zufari.