Skip to main content
SWStudyWalks Search

Biology / Unit 9   Bio 1991 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Protist Motility

Captions available

The idea

Protists move by flagella, which they whip or rotate; by cilia, beaten in coordinated waves; or by pseudopodia, extensions anchored and pulled forward.

In practice

Paramecium swims by coordinated ciliary beating, while an amoeba extends a pseudopod, anchors it, then pulls its cytoplasm forward.

Where people slip

These three motility types are not exclusive across protists — some lineages use more than one at different life stages.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it  ·  Sources for Biology