Smart Alyk (@smartalyk.bsky.social)

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

In my Protist Era 🦠 New artist painting a new species daily. Watch the art evolve as I paint earth's complete evolutionary history over 40 years instagram.com/smart.alyk

996 followers 1K following1.5K posts

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Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

1 Apr

STAGE COMPLETE, NEW ERA! 🦠🎉 Next up is Protists! Archaea don't get near enough attention for how interesting they truly are. I can't wait to see what future research uncovers, especially the work being done with Asgard archaea. #sciart #watercolor #archaea #protist #painting #art #paint

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

19h

DAY 509 SPECIES 509 - Breviata anathema STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura & Lamy pen B. anathema is a single celled amoeboflagellate. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

19h

After years of being misidentified as the amoebozoan “Mastigamoeba invertens,” it was renamed in 2006 once researchers showed it didn’t belong there. “Anathema” (Greek for a cursed thing) likely nods to how difficult it was to classify.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 508 SPECIES 508 - Pyrocystis fusiformis STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen P. fusiformis is a marine dinoflagellate that emits bright blue bioluminescence when disturbed. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Its glow likely works as a burglar alarm: it lights up whatever disturbs it, drawing in that animal’s own predators. In experiments, cuttlefish caught more mysid shrimp as the concentration of glowing P. fusiformis in the tank went up.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 507 SPECIES 507 - Amphisolenia bidentata STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen A. bidentata is a long needle shaped marine dinoflagellate with a spined foot shaped tail #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Its single cell carries bacterial partners and dozens of complete pelagophyte algae

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 506 SPECIES 506 - Ceratolithus cristatus STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen C. cristatus is a single celled marine alga that armors itself in tiny calcite plates. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It appears to have two life stages with very different armor: one wraps itself in a horseshoe shaped plate, and the other shown here is covered in plates shaped like a ring

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 505 SPECIES 505 - Carchesium polypinum STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura & Lamy pen C. polypinum is a bell shaped ciliate that forms colonies that branch like trees. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Individual cells are microscopic, but colonies can sometimes be visible to the naked eye Picked up a Lamy Safari fountain pen that I'll add to the tool kit. First time using one but instantly enjoy it!

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 504 SPECIES 504 - Ancyromonas sigmoides STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen A. sigmoides “S-shaped anchor” is a small flagellate that glides along surfaces and eats bacteria. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Its also contributed to neuroscience research: scientists found light activated ion channels in ancyromonads, and when they expressed the A. sigmoides channel in the cholinergic neurons of live worms, they could use light to stop feeding muscle contractions

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 503 SPECIES 503 - Cyanophora paradoxa STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

C. paradoxa is a glaucophyte alga whose plastids still carry traces of the cyanobacterium they came from, offering a glimpse of how the ancestors of plants first acquired photosynthesis

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 502 SPECIES 502 - Paraphysomonas vestita STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen P. vestita is a colorless golden alga whose lineage lost photosynthesis #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It no longer has a functional chloroplast and lives as a predator, eating bacteria and other small microbes

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 501 SPECIES 501 - Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen C. wuellerstorfi is a bottom dwelling marine foraminifer that’s a key tool for reconstructing past ocean circulation #sciart #watercolor #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Its tiny shell captures the chemistry of the deep ocean water it grows in, helping scientists map how ocean currents changed over millions of years.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 500 SPECIES 500 - Choanocystis aculeata STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen C. aculeata is a freshwater species of centrohelid heliozoan. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

The bottom image is a spine scale that's shown radiating from C. aculeata above. Sometimes I take a picture of a pre-sketch that turns out well because I'm not sure if I can pull off the painting. Happy how it turned out though. 😊

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

I've been trying to finish getting all my species in order for the project. Its been difficult to include as many as I can, there will ultimately be quite a few groups excluded. But I've just seen for the first time Mud dragons and Peanut worms!

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

The Mud dragon looks like a baby Dune worm, and the Peanut worm looks like a peanut worm. There are some wild things out there! 😆

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 499 SPECIES 499 - Trachelomonas volzii STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek, DS, QoR watercolor. Sakura & Kingart pen T. volzii is a freshwater euglenoid algae #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It's enclosed in a rigid, mineralized shell with an orange eye spot below the neck.Found mainly in organically rich freshwater. Members of the genus are often abundant in polluted environments.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 498 SPECIES 498 - Erythropsidinium agile STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura & Pentel pen There's something a bit ominous about E. agile. It possesses some of the most complex subcellular structures found in any single cell organism #sciart #paint #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It has a camera like photoreceptor with a focusing lens, and a unique dynamic appendage called the piston that can retract and extend on its own for at least 2min after the cell has burst.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 497 SPECIES 497 - Polykrikos schwartzii STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen P. schwartzii (Schwartz’s many ringed one) is a dinoflagellate that looks like a ringed colony of fused cells, but is a single cell #sciart #watercolor #paint #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It's also armed with harpoon like stinging organelles that pierce and reel in prey. They look surprisingly similar to the stinging cells of jellyfish despite evolving independently.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 496 SPECIES 496 - Dinophysis fortii STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen D. fortii is a single celled armored marine dinoflagellate that produces marine biotoxins. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It’s dangerous at very low numbers, Dinophysis species can make shellfish unsafe to eat with just a few hundred cells per liter Some days feel like its my first day painting. I think I tried doing too much! 😁

static.klipy.comstatic.klipy.comALT:

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 495 SPECIES 495 - Trachelomonas hirta STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen T. hirta (Hairy neck unit) is a photosynthetic euglenoid. Its enclosed in a rigid protective shell with a surface covered in fine spines #sciart #paint #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 494 SPECIES 494 - Leucocytozoon simondi STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Kingart pen L. simondi is a protozoan blood parasite that causes leucocytozoonosis, a malaria related disease of ducks and geese. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It's spread to nesting birds by black flies that breed in fast flowing streams

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 493 SPECIES 493 - Chromera velia STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen C. velia is a single celled alga with 2 main forms: a stationary round cell and a swimming stage with two flagella. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

The malaria parasite evolved from a photosynthetic ancestor, & Chromera is one of its closest living photosynthetic relatives. It really makes me wonder what evolutionary pathways other parasites have taken.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 492 SPECIES 492 - Balantioides coli STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen B. coli is the largest single celled protozoan parasite that can infect humans and the only known ciliated parasite to do so. #sciart #watercolor #paint #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It lives in the large intestine and causes an infection called balantidiasis

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 491 SPECIES 491 - Tripos ranipes STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & HWC watercolor. Sakura & Pentel pen T. ranipes (Frog foot) is a marine planktonic dinoflagellate. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Also I planned on painting these yellowish but I don't know what happened. 😐

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

The tips of its horns branch into small fingers that look like frog’s toes. The fingers are packed with chloroplasts and the cell regrows them toward the end of each night, and resorbs them at the end of the day.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 490 SPECIES 490 - Oxyrrhis marina STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura & Writech pen O. marina is a marine heterotrophic dinoflagellate widely used as a model organism in protist ecological and evolutionary research #sciart #paint #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It's easy to grow in culture, eats a wide range of prey, and can tolerate lots of abuse. Thanks to @thealgaeman.bsky.social for suggesting it.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 489 SPECIES 489 - Sphenoderia lenta STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen S. lenta is a testate amoeba: a single celled amoeboid organism living inside a self built shell. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

It's only distantly related to the familiar Amoeba. Testate amoebae belong to at least three distantly related lineages that independently evolved shell dwelling. Speed painting tonight so its a bit rushed. ⚡

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 488 SPECIES 488 - Mesodinium rubrum STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek watercolor. Sakura pen M. rubrum is a ciliate that has the ability to steal cellular parts from consumed cryptophyte algae to perform photosynthesis #sciart #watercolor #paint #eukaryotic #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

The stealing continues up the food chain. The dinoflagellate Dinophysis eats M. rubrum and keeps the cryptophyte chloroplasts for itself, so those chloroplasts have passed through two predators.

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

DAY 487 SPECIES 487 - Spirostomum minus STAGE: Protists MEDIUM: Arches Paper. Chromatek & QoR watercolor. Sakura pen S. minus is a single celled freshwater ciliate shaped like a worm. It has a beaded macronucleus. similar to a string of pearls. #sciart #watercolor #paint #protist #protistsonsky

Smart Alyk

@smartalyk.bsky.social

I wanted to figure out a way to show both the species exterior and innards at the same time. The idea of having a realistic outside contrasting a simple pattern inside is super attractive to me, so I'll be experimenting off and on with the idea. 😁