Michaelsarsia elegans

Michaelsarsia belongs to a group of coccolithophores the most striking feature of which is the presence of long appendages (in pink) around the flagellar pole. These are highly modified coccoliths, and an extraordinary example of the degree to which coccoliths can be modified, even if the function of them has not yet been determined.

Details: Specimen from the Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean (R/V Hesperides cruise Mater II, station 69).
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