According toEncyclopedia Britannica, paramecium areoval-shaped microorganisms between 0.05 and 0.32mm long (2015). The cilia that surroundtheir cell membrane are used for motility and for food intake (2015). Whenviewed with a wet slide under a light microscope, the Paramecium sp. appears as a relatively large, clear-blue oval with quick,darting movements. Paramecium sp.

havetwo nuclei: a macronucleus and a micronucleus (2015). Though both nucleicontain all the transmissible information for the organism, they functiondifferently in the cell (2015). The macronucleus controls the metabolicfunctions of the cell, while the micronucleus is involved with reproduction(2015). This being so, a Paramecium sp. cansurvive without a micronucleus (without reproductive capabilities), but willdie if it does not contain a macronucleus (2015).