Ethmodiscus is a genus of diatoms found widely scattered throughout the intertropical and temperate zones in the world's oceans. The large diatom genus can get up to 2mm in size, and it has distinct cell features like a vacuole that comprises over 99% of its cell's volume.[1] Despite their large size, they are known to be in open oceans in low quantity. While in the ocean, Ethmodiscus use buoyancy control to migrate up and down to the high nitrogen depths and return to the surface to photosynthesize. Additionally, the biological characteristics of Ethmodiscus are an important component in interpreting deep-sea sedimentary richness and distribution.[2]
| Ethmodiscus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Gyrista |
| Subphylum: | Ochrophytina |
| Class: | Bacillariophyceae |
| Subclass: | Coscinodiscophycidae |
| Superorder: | Coscinodiscanae |
| Order: | Ethmodiscales |
| Family: | Ethmodiscaceae Round |
| Genus: | Ethmodiscus A.F. Castracane, 1886 |
Ethmodiscus rex is one of the most frequent species found in deep-sea sediments. The species was found by John D. Wiseman and Ingram N. Hendey in 1952 on the deep-sea floor by the H.M.S. Challenger. During this time, E. rex was known to rarely be found in the living state in plankton communities.[3]
References
edit- ^ Villareal, Tracy A.; Joseph, Leanne; Brzezinski, Mark A.; Shipe, Rebecca F.; Lipschultz, Fredric; Altabet, Mark A. (1999). "Biological and chemical characteristics of the giant diatom Ethmodiscus (Bacillariophyceae) in the Central North Pacific Gyre". Journal of Phycology. 35 (5): 896–902. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.1999.3550896.x. ISSN 0022-3646. S2CID 83603153.
- ^ Swift, Elijah (1973). "The Marine Diatom Ethmodiscus Rex: Its Morphology and Occurrence in the Plankton of the Sargasso Sea". Journal of Phycology. 9 (4): 456–460. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.1973.tb04121.x. ISSN 1529-8817. S2CID 85700037.
- ^ Wiseman, John D. H.; Ingram Hendey, N. (1953-10-01). "The significance and diatom content of a deep-sea floor sample from the neighbourhood of the greates oceanic depth". Deep Sea Research. 1 (1): 47–59. Bibcode:1953DSR.....1...47W. doi:10.1016/0146-6313(53)90008-2. ISSN 0146-6313.
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