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.
Spine
A spine is a pointed, silica extension of the valve, shorter than a seta. Spines and may be solid or hollow, very long or tiny, single or many, and they may arise from different points on the valve in different taxa.
Image Credit: Marina Potapova and Sarah Spaulding
Image Credit: Eduardo Morales
Image Credit: Mark Edlund
Image Credit: Marina Potapova and Sarah Spaulding
Valves of Stephanodicus have many marginal spines. The spines are solid, rather than hollow.
Image Credit: Eduardo Morales
Staurosirella has spines that are positioned in the costae, or thickened silica ridges, of the valve. These spines are hollow and forked at the tip.
Image Credit: Mark Edlund
Setae is a more specialized term, but could also be applied to the long spines of Chaetoceros elmorei. The setae are considered to aid in maintaining bouyancy of this planktonic species.