Glossary
Like the rest of this website, the glossary is a work in progress. If we’ve missed a term, please contact us to let us know the term and references.
Cingulum
A cingulum is the series of copulae associated with a valve. The plural is cingula. In Latin cingulum means belt.
Valves of most taxa have an attached cingulum. The epicingulum is attached to the epivalve and the hypocingulum is attached to the hypovalve. The epicingulum always overlaps the hypocingulum. The two cingula together make up the cincture.
See also copula, frustule, epitheca, hypotheca, girdle, cincture, and valve.
Image Credit: Eduardo Morales
Image Credit: Eduardo Morales
Scanning electron micrograph of both cingula of Staurosira construens with the bands of silica, the copulae, composing them. The arrows indicate the first copula, or valvocopula, of each cingulum.