Radiolaria skeleton

3D Model

Name : Mineral skeleton of a radiolaria (unidentified species, fossil)

Description : Radiolarian are a group of marine protist. Their exquisite skeletons are mineral, made of either biogenic silica (amorphous opaline), or strontium sulfate. They are heterotrophic but many of them host endosymbiotic microalgae.

Size : 150 µm.

Sampling : marine sediment

Method : 3D- reconstruction from Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

Credits: Dr Planktonix., Germany