Thje image on the left is transmitted light showing the cell inside the lorica or shell- and on the right an image with epifluorescence showing the cell macronucleus (green), an ingested chlorophyll-containing algal cell (red) and two Synechococcus cyanobacteria cells (yellow-orange).
Ernst Haeckel described the species Dictyocysta mitra in 1873. The image is a combination of two drawings in Plate 27. The paper is available on the Aquaparadox website, Classic Taxonomic Monographs page.