Genus: Colonial; each zooid has a separately contractile myoneme (Illustrated Guide, 1985). Each animal has its own myoneme, can contract singly without causing colony to contract (How to know the protozoa, 1979). Species:

Similar Genus ->> Zoothamnium; Vorticella; Opercularia; Epistylis;

Carchesium polypinum Linnaeus, 1758: 100-125 μm long; colony up to 3 mm; fresh water (Kudo, 1966). 120-125 μm long (How to know the protozoa, 1979). Body bell-shaped; 80-140 μm long; a macronucleus C-shaped (Kojima, et al., 1995).

Carchesium granulatum Kellicott: About 100 μm long; two contractile vacuoles anterior (Kudo, 1966).

cf. Zoothamnium: Like Carchesium but myonemes of individuals are connected as a single, branched contractile system, whole colony contracts at once (How to know the protozoa, 1979).