Paramecium is one of the best-known protists, often taught in school biology courses. It is a ciliate genus. Ciliates are a clade of protists which move by synchronous waves of tiny projections from their cuticle. These projections are called cilia (singular: cilium). The species range from 50 to 350 μm in length. They live in freshwater ponds, and eat bacteria, and other protists such as single-celled algae.
Paramecium species usually have bacterial symbionts, and some species have green algal symbionts. view more...