Emliania huxleyi

This is perhaps the best known and most intensively researched coccolithophore. It is also easily the most ubiquitous coccolithophore, take a litre of water from the surface water of any ocean and it will probably contain, along with much else, a few hundred or thousand E. huxleyi cells. This single species can form massive blooms (see also the satellite image), the lateral extent of which can be very broad and, with the ability to calcify and fix biomass, this species, and coccolithophores in general, contributes significantly to the carbon cycle.
Details: Specimen from the Canary Islands, North Atlantic (R/V Poseidon cruise P233b, station 2).
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