Titles in French and English help us know what we're seeing. In all waters, daphnia abound. They are crustaceans about 2 ml long, with one eye that turns in all directions. Antennae enable daphnia to move: in a close up magnified 150,000 times, we see the muscles of the antennae pulse. We see the eye, the nerve mass, blood globules, and the heart, beating several times per second. The intestine forms a long line. All are females; eggs develop above the intestine. New generations come rapidly. Inside each daphnia are tiny infusoria; we watch them clean the intestine of a dead daphnia. An enemy, the hydra, approaches. A daphnia dies, but many remain.
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Jean Painlevé Director
First release December 31, 1928 · Produced in France · Original title La daphnie
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
La daphnie
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
No dialogue
Release dates
France · December 31, 1928
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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