Rhodelphis marinus

So... seriously, I managed to illustrate all four Rhodelphis species. I feel most proud of Rhodelphis edaphicus, as it was a new species and I hadn't initially planned to illustrate it, but I couldn't resist the temptation.

Rhodelphis marinus is a simple drawing; there isn't much information available about its habits. What I do know is that it's similar to Rhodelphis limneticus in several ways. One troubling thing is that there's no indication that it has contractile vacuoles, unlike Rhodelphis limneticus. These contractile vacuoles are never shown in the micrographs of the species. I don't know if this is because they weren't found, or if it should be assumed that they are present. 𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.

The article I used as a basis for this species is the same as for Rhodelphis limneticus: "Non-photosynthetic predators are sister to red algae" by Gawryluk et al. 2019. These images are free to use. You know, just give me the credit! DOTkamina 2025.

(•˕ •マ.ᐟ

ᶜᵃⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ⁱᵐᵃᵍⁱⁿᵉ ʰᵉʳ ʳᵉᵃᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵗʰⁱˢ?

Rhodelphis edaphicus

Unlike other Rhodelphis species, this one was isolated from agricultural soil, not from a body of water. Even more intriguing, it has several characteristics that are rare in other species, and these were responsible for the delay in publishing these images, because I had to redraw everything to correct the errors.

But let's see: R. edaphicus shares the same property with other species regarding the length of its flagella: the posterior flagellum is longer than the anterior one. In other species, only the posterior flagellum has simple mastigonemes. But in R. edaphicus, both flagella have mastigonemes, and not only that, but there are two types: complex mastigonemes (which are usually made of 3 pieces or parts, although they can also be made of only parts 1 and 2), and between them, several mastigonemes or "simple hairs," whose shape resembles part 3 of the complex mastigonemes.

Additionally, on the dorsal side of the cell, there are three grooves, and on the ventral side, there is only one. In the main image of the individual, I have depicted all the grooves, but note that the ventral groove shouldn't be easily visible because it's located underneath. In the other images, I haven't depicted the grooves. I could say it's due to laziness, but microscopy is on my side: under a light microscope, the grooves are barely noticeable.

There is also a keel-like structure that separates the flagellar pockets. In case you didn't know, flagellar pockets are invaginations that surround the bases of the flagella, and I believe they are related to motility. These pockets are present in all Rhodelphis species, but I haven't depicted them in other drawings. I have included them here because of this anatomical feature: between these pockets in R. edaphicus, there is this keel-shaped wall. In the anatomy image, the circle is enlarged as a "section of the ventral area," but I think using the term "section" is incorrect because it's not a longitudinal or transverse section as such. It's simply an enlargement of how that piece circled in red would look on the ventral side.

Another characteristic of R. edaphicus is the presence of three contractile vacuoles, arranged like the corners of an isosceles triangle (don't know what an isosceles triangle is? You'll see that you need to know geometry to study biology). They also have food vacuoles, which form after ingesting bacteria or another unicellular eukaryote. In these images, I haven't shown the food vacuoles. Finally, R. edaphicus has at least two possible morphs: one cone-shaped (although I would say it's more like the shape of those crepe cones or the ones they sell fries with chicken nuggets in), and another more globular form that appears in the article describing the species (Figure 1J). It looks to me like a morbidly obese specimen.

Another morphological peculiarity to mention: when an individual is going to divide (binary fission), first the dividing cell acquires an almost rectangular shape, then the two future cells acquire the normal "oval" shape.

Of course, keep in mind that the colors used in these drawings are merely representative, to illustrate and differentiate the parts, and do not necessarily correspond to reality. In fact, the organism is colorless, and under a light microscope, some parts are barely visible. 

All this information, as well as the information I used to create these illustrations, was obtained from the article by Belyaev et al. 2025: "Rhodelphis edaphicus sp. nov.—a new lineage of predatory archaeplastids from agricultural soil". Please, if you want to know more about this organism, or see real images of its cells, take a look. The article is freely accessible!

You can use my illustrations for your projects, homework, presentations, articles, essays, website, or whatever you like. The only requirement is that you give me proper credit. Simply write something like "DOTkamina 2025".

૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

    ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა 

                   ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

                               ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

                                                ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

                                                             ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა

                                                                     ૮꒰ ྀི >⸝⸝⸝< ྀི꒱ა 

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

v

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

𓆩❤︎𓆪

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

Ä̵̛̻͖̩͍̿̈́̊̃̚n̸̢̥̝͚̳̮͍̲̣̺̝͇͕͍̏͗̏͆͗̽̇͒͆̄̈̃͐̾͠ḑ̷̭̪̱͎̜̞̰̌ ̴̲̖̠̘̮̃͑̑̑͗͆ͅĮ̴̧̻͈͚̍̈́̍͊̋̕ ̴̨̛͙͙̝̫͈͇̠̥͔͍̎̒̈́͗̄͐̃̽̊͊̕͝f̵̧̯̘̫̹̺̹̼̬̘͉̺̜͎̼̀͂̐̈́͆͐͝͝e̵̘̰̞̺͑̽͝l̴̹̽͆̈́̀́͠l̵̨͖͕̞̖̰͋̌̿̾̋͆͗͘͝ ̸̢͓͇̪̝̣̻̍͛̎̇̑͋̍͛̐͝f̵̛̛̳̤̻̃́͑̃̐͒͊́̈́̎õ̴͕̜̲̰̓̄̅́̋̔̎̈̔͑͝͝ṛ̷̱̺̳͖̎́̃̊̈́͜ͅ ̸̬̜̠̹̬̭͍̯͔̤̘̣̩̬̂͑̽͑͋̂̾͊̆̉͊͛̕̚͝ͅh̶̙̦̲͊͋̕è̷͎̣͙̥̬͎̱̔͌͐͛̈́͊͛̐͐̕̚͝r̶̨̢̪̪͉͇̱̝̲̻̲̻̱͍͂̆́͂̑́ ̵̡̛̛͇͔̈́͒̾͐̀͗̄͠͝͝͠͝a̵̢̛̦̲̻͙͎̜̖̟̒͛̐̿̍̋̏̈́̾g̴̨̧̛̛̠̰͚̟̪͓̩̼̖̾̒̓͆̋̊̏̾̏͝͠͝a̵̡̗͚̗̹̖̱̹̅́̾͘͝ͅͅį̵̫̹̦͙͍͔̺̩̤̱̯̱̭́̐̄̀͘͜n̷̙̺̯̱͓͕̦̘̞̫͓͗̍̔͊͐͊̉̋͜͝.̵̢̢̰̜̜̣̟̘̪̜̮̳̣͙̬͂̈́̀̅̅̽͝.̷̨̨̣̰͙͕̯̝̫̈́̒.̵̨̛̦͉̝͓̿̓̀͛̿͋̊́̔̎̃͆

𓍯𓂃

𓍯𓂃

𓍯𓂃

sybau!

Rhodelphis mylnikovi

Rhodelphis mylnikovi was isolated from fresh water like Rhodelphis limneticus, specifically from the Étang du Manet pond near Montigny-le-Bretonneux in Ile de France, France. Analyses place it close to R. limneticus, and it shares 95.16 percent of the nucleotides in the 18S rRNA gene with that species.

The full illustration shows simplified anatomy of Rhodelphis mylnikovi in the upper left corner. The lower part of the image shows behaviors observed in the species: binary fission; cannibalism, shown by a darker gray individual being eaten; and predation, shown by an individual that consumes a specimen of Bodo saltans with its parts labeled for clarity. Why? Uhm... why not?

In the cases of cannibalism and predation, pseudopodia are shown, which are cytoplasmic protrusions that reach out to capture and swallow prey. This detail matters because the simplified anatomy diagram also shows a pseudopodium, and it's important to note that this structure doesn't appear all the time.

These illustrations of Rhodelphis mylnikovi are based on the microscope photographs in the article by Prokina K. I. et al. 2024: "Morphological and molecular characterization of a new member of the phylum Rhodelphidia". The organism itself has no color. All colors in the illustrations serve an artistic and educational purpose and do not reflect the organism's true appearance.

To create Bodo saltans and its structures, I relied on these works:

• Harmer J. et al. 2018. "Farming, slaving and enslavement: histories of endosymbioses during kinetoplastid evolution".
• Midha et al. 2021. "Bodo saltans (Kinetoplastida) is dependent on a novel Paracaedibacter-like endosymbiont that possesses multiple putative toxin-antitoxin systems".
• Malysheva et al. 2007. "Mitosis of the free-living flagellate Bodo saltans strain PS+ (Kinetoplastidea, Bodonida)".

Below are the images without text, in case you want to use them or create your own version. Remember that these images are free to use; just be sure to give me proper credit: DOTkamina 2025.

Rhodelphis mylnikovi individual.

Rhodelphis mylnikovi, binary fission.

Rhodelphis mylnikovi, cannibalism behavior. The individual being eaten appears in a darker gray. A rather cursed fate, r̴̛̛̬̝̻̠͛̾̀̒̄̔̾̑̿̇͌̓i̷̡̦͔͖͚̮̘̼̙̙̓͗̏͠g̵͖̠̬̩̖̞̽͐̎̈́́̒̉̎̃́͑̾̀͝͝ḫ̸͚͖̀t̴͖͚͆̈̐͆̇͋̅̔̑̆͋̉͌̇͝?

Rhodelphis mylnikovi, predation behavior. Eating a Bodo saltans. Yummy yummy :)

𝙊𝙔𝙀

nO, nadA :)

Rhodelphis limneticus

Well, well, well… what do we have here? A microorganism, obviously. Can’t you see that, ẙ̷̡̡̡̡̨̡̛̩̻̮̲̤͓͍͙̮͚͉̬͇̪̤͓̟̺̘̠̫̖̺͍̳͓̬̞̯̬̝̹̭͉̮͓̜̤͇̞̫̹͇̩̜͈̩̭̲̤̺̅͛͗̀̅́́̒̇͌́͛͑̒͊̄̂̉́̈́͊̒̍͊̇̉̐̅͑̏͛͋́́̎͛͂̎̏͂̍͗̔̓̓̈́́̈́͊͛̉̈́̇̀̀́̄̏̍̅͆̇̍͒̄̃̈́́͗̇̀͆͛͋̎͛̚͘̕̚̕̚͜͜͠͝͝͝͝ợ̶̡̡̢̨̨̢̧̨̨̡̡̡̧̨̛̛̮̝̭͕̖̗͔̟̻̰͍͙̻͚̰͔͔̖̝̣̺̫̼͇̝̦̖͙̤̘̱̲̞̟͔̘̥̬͉̘̹͉̙͍̪͈̳͕̱͈͙̠͉̩͎̱̹̱͚̣̜͈͉̹̖̬̹̺̜̻̰̲͍̣̻̦̮͓̤͓̦͉̖̦̠̟̪̞͕̠̬̬̠̩͇̙͉͊̑̏͒̿̓͐̇̀͐̋̃́̀̓́̽̓̈́̂̀̔̊̂̐͋̔̄̓͑̉̃̒̈́́̒͒̽̇͋̓̍̂͒̉͐̍̉̈́̀͒̈́͌̓̈́́̕͜͜͜͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅͅứ̶̢̢̧̢̧̢͈̬̰͎̝̩͔͍͚̦͕͓̥̮̙̝̱͇͔͉̲͔̺͔̳̘̲̰̭̼͍̫̳̹̟̮̦̝͈̠̲͈̜͇̼̙͇̰͓͍̜̖̗̳̤͕̤̦̠̘̦̞͆́͌́̂͆̽̑̈́̏̏̎͐̅̅̐͛̑̓͌͗͑̔̌̓̎͆̿̀̍͆̂̍̅̒̀̔̋͐̅̔̅̈́̓̓̉́̊͂̄̐͐̇́̈́̑̿̑̈͘͘̚̚͘̕͘̚̚͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͝ͅ ̵̡̡̧̤̜̪̠̺̳̠͚͎̹͖̺͚͓͓̖̯͎͎͈̼̼͈̩͉̪̰̖̜̲̣̟̱͓̮̼͚̺̂̈́̈́̓͒̿̇͂͋̆̉̋̋̓̍̉͐́̔̓͒̐̚͘͝͠f̴̢̧̟͇̜͍͔̙̰͕̜̣̩̟̜̩̖̟̗̲͓̜̪̲̀̋̋͜ờ̸̡̡̡̨̢̛̛͚̮̟̣͙͉̘̞̝̦̼̬͎͕̬̦͉̬̘̠͍̙̘͙̥͖̳͕̤̲̗̲̦͔̥̼̣͖̩̝̩̦̰̲̣͈̙̖͚͋̔̄͊͒͋́̇̒̔̐̈́̒͐͋̀̽̂̈́̎͆́̄̏̃͌̓͌̈̃̔̆̒̌̌̃̅̊̈́͑͌͑̄̑̇͌́̀̃̆͒̐̈́͐͐̇̈́̑̾̀͑̈́͂̀̕̕̕̚̚͜͝͠͠͠͝͝o̶̡̢̩͍̳̱̥̩͓͉̮̝̟̻͔̭̺͕̘͔͉̖̰̜̯̰̠͙̍͌͑̆͌̇́̇̆͒̓̅̓̆̄͒̈́͐͆̊̽͒́̑́̑̉͐̍̆͊̑̽͗̉͘͘͠͝ļ̶̨̧̧̛̛̛͙̜̼̹͇̮̬̦͖̝̬͉͓͓̺͚̺̻̩̟̱̘̬̥͈̭͖̣͙͎̮͍̻̱͖͔̹̠̮̩̘̼̋̑́̒͌̐̿̀̅͑̎̾̈́̾̀̾̀͂̊̒̆̅̍̃̌̈̓̓̄͛̃̈͌̿͂͑̿̇̅̐͒̓͐͐̃͌̅̓̑̈́̐̋̋̄̐́̓̒̊͒̈́͐̾̌́͂̑̋̈́̾͂͋̓̈̈́̊̈̍̂̈͊̽̆͌̊̍͌͐̿͂͆̾͒̑̀̄̒̈̀̽̚͘̕͘̕̕̕͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͝ͅ?

Rhodelphis limneticus is one of the species within the genus Rhodelphis, relatives of red algae, except they lack color and act as predators. The following image shows a scientific reconstruction of the organism’s anatomy, highlighting its most representative parts according to the description in “Non-photosynthetic predators are sister to red algae” by Gawryluk et al. (2019).

And let’s not forget the clean version without labels for easier use:

Important notes: the illustrated parts are purely schematic and not necessarily to scale (although I have tried to keep the proportions as faithful as possible to the micrographs presented in the article mentioned above). The colors are for illustration and visibility purposes only, since the organism itself is transparent. Only the most notable anatomical parts are shown; not every structure of the organism is represented. Also, keep in mind that individual variation exists—a specimen of Rhodelphis limneticus may display differences not reflected in this image. That’s Biology, lil' fella. That's why I stayed away from the molecular side of things.

I believe that covers the key details. The image is free to use. If you want to translate the labels and such, feel free. The only requirement is to credit me as the author of the drawing: DOTkamina 2025.