"[7] The pellicle is uniformly covered with cilia, and has a long oral groove, leading to deeply embedded oral cavity, lined with cilia (short, hair-like protoplasmic processes that serve as organs of locomotion and food capture).

Radially distributed "collecting canals" give the contractile vacuoles a distinctive star-like shape.

[8][7] The cell is enclosed by a cellular envelope (cortex) densely studded with spindle-shaped extrusomes called trichocysts.

[4][5] P. caudatum feed on bacteria and small eukaryotic cells, such as yeast and flagellate algae.

It regulates osmotic pressure with the help of bladder-like contractile vacuoles, gathering internal water through its star-shaped radial canals and expelling the excess through the plasma membrane.

Under certain conditions, it may be preceded by self-fertilization (autogamy),[11] or it may follow conjugation, a sexual phenomenon in which Paramecia of compatible mating types fuse temporarily and exchange genetic material.