Biology
Arachnula impatiens contracting before going into a cyst. © C Berney
The typical life cycle of Arachnula impatiens consists of:
- a feeding stage when the amoeba is actively moving around in search of prey
- an inactive digestive phase when the cell goes into a cyst after eating
Reproduction in vampyrellids is poorly understood.
Like most protozoa, Arachnula can reproduce asexually by dividing into two smaller daughter cells. This can occur during the cyst phase when more than one cell emerges from a cyst.
Sexual reproduction is also thought to occur, but has not yet been sufficiently studied.