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Size
There is a great size range among amoeba. The largest are about 1mm across - just about visible to the naked eye. They are all a single cell.
Diet
Amoebae can have a variety of diets. Carnivorous amoebae will eat things such as ciliated protozoa (moving single celled creatures), and small metazoa (multi-celled creatures, smaller than the amoeba). Herbivorous amoebae may eat algae, or plant debris. Some herbivorous amoebae still need to chase their prey, as some algae are capable of propelling themselves along. There are also omnivorous amoebae, and parasitic amoebae, who feed on their host.
Locomotion
The basic locomotion of an amoeba consists of using pseudopodia.
Reproduction
Amoebae reproduce by binary fission. This means that the parent cell produces exact copies of itself.
Some scientists have claimed to see sexual reproduction among amoebae, but there is no evidence, other than subjective observations. The observations are generally of amoebae releasing hoards of baby amoebae. Critics argue that the release of cysts also fits the descriptions given.
Unexplained behaviour
Amoebae do not always go after the nearest food item. Even when a food item is touching their cell membrane, they will sometimes ignore it, and go after another further away. The reason for this is unclear. The first theory was that there was some difference between the prey items. Possibly the different prey were releasing different levels of certain chemicals, or there was an important difference in the cell surface of the prey, that meant the amoeba did not detect it. This was tested by using droplets of liquid, containing a set concentration of minerals. The surfaces of these droplets would have been the same, and the concentrations of each droplet was the same. The amoebae would still sometimes ignored closer droplets in favour of those further away.
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