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
Long spines of Chaetoceros elmorei. The more specialized term, seta, could also be applied to these spines. These structures are thought to aid in maintaining bouyancy of this planktonic species.