Paramecium is a single-celled protist from the Alveolate clade. They live in wet environments like lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and puddles. The wet environment can even be inside of animal bodies and in moist soil. Paramecium are heterotrophs, meaning they eat other living or non-living things. They eat by trapping food inside of their oral grooves, which are basically mouths. They use cilia on their body to not only move, but also help capture their prey. When the food gets into the oral groove, the paramecium puts the food in a vacuole which keeps enzymatic reactions in a remote environment separate from the rest of the inner cell. The paramecium also uses contractile vacuoles to aid in taking in or getting rid of water to maintain water
