Radiolaria siliceous zooplankton
Skeletons of often perfect glassy geometric shape and symmetry radiolarians are among the most beautiful of all protists An ancient group reaching all the way back to the early Cambrian Period Their abundance in many rocks their long geologic history and their diversity through time make them important sources of information on the geologic age and structure of many deposits They range from 30 microns to 2 mm in diameter Their skeletons tend to have arm like extensions that resemble spikes which are used both to increase surface area for buoyancy and to capture prey Most radiolarians are planktonic and get around by coasting along ocean currents Most are spherical but there exist a wide variety of shapes including cone like and tetrahedral forms Besides their diversity of form radiolarians also exhibit a wide variety of behaviors They can reproduce sexually or asexually they may be filter feeders or predators and may even participate in symbiotic relations with unicellular algae
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Keywords: background, biology, black, darkfield, life, marine, microscope, photomicrograph, plankton, radiolaria, sea, siliceous, zooplankton
