Sample was taken at the Guadalquivir estuary and fixed with formaldehyde.
It seems to be a set of algae cells (cenobium) evolving within a mucilaginous structure, but I'm not sure.
Yes. When cells are liberated from the group they look just like a Cyclotella, and thus I guess they are diatoms, but I even hesitate about this point.
Dear Sir ,
Unfortunately the image is not good,please if you can take image by 40 X or more. I am read all answers above they are not related to your question, the diatoms identifying after cleaning .
I agree with the answer of Dr. Imad Al-Shawi. Images are not clear.
Regards
SM Najim
I find a book, "Methods in stream ecology", in which the identification becomes a lot easier, because then you can compare the photographies provided on the books from Krammer and Lange-Bertalot. The permanent slides are also a good way to identify to genus-species level and do not require a lot of reagents.
It looks like the diatom Thalassiosira partheneia Schrader, which forms large colonies, looking at the first glance like Phaeocystis. Th. partheneia is very common in the North-West African upwelling region, from which it was first described, but also present in other marine waters. l
Great! Thank you very much.
Do yo know if this species form colonies instead chains?
Yes, it forms large colonies in which many chains are connected by chitan.threads which you can see also on your photos. In contrast to the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis globosda, it does not produce mucilage. Similar large diatom aggregations are formed by Chaetoceros socialis and related species, connected by their setae.For exact species identification of Th. partheneia you need SEM-photos of the cleaned diatom frustules.
All best wishes
Malte
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