Acineta is a Suctorian, a microorganism that paralyzes prey with its tentacles before sucking out their cytoplasm. Acineta’s tentacles are located at the lateral edges, allowing live birth of its young through a central apical pore. Spiral structures, wrapped around each tentacle’s tube, extend and retract like an accordian.

Acineta has a protective shell, or Lorica, and a short stalk that attaches it to material in its environment.

While the video is from a freshwater sample, this photo shows the Suctorian in a marine sample, taken from the Gulf of Thailand, April 30, 2023.