Organism · Coccolithophyceae
Coccolithus pelagicus
Present
Living species illustration
Coccolithus pelagicus
Overview
Coccolithus pelagicus is a single-celled organism wrapped in small calcareous plates. It is phytoplankton that drifts in the sea and uses light to live. Under a microscope, the arrangement of plates forming a rounded sphere draws the eye.[1][4]
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Key facts
Each plate is a calcareous structure made by the cell. The cell surface also has nonmineralized plates and an organic covering. Hard pieces and a soft surface together form its tiny body.[1]
Time and place
It has a fossil record extending from the Paleocene to the present. The Paleocene spanned approximately 66–56 million years ago. Today, the subspecies pelagicus is well known from cold, high-latitude seas.[3][2]
The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.
Size, form and skeleton
The calcareous plates, called coccoliths, are elliptical. Overlapping plates form a rounded shell around the cell. Alternating between a single plate and the whole cell reveals how small components assemble into a body.[2][1]
In the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute’s species account, the calcareous plates covering the body measure approximately 4.4–13 µm long. The size of one plate differs from that of the entire cell.[5]
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Habitat and reproduction
It photosynthesizes in seawater and also produces calcareous plates. Using light and building calcium carbonate structures occur together in one cell. Research also compares the cold-water subspecies pelagicus with the related braarudii group from warmer seas.[4][2]
Fossil discovery
In 1969, Manton and Leedale examined fine structures on the cell surface. Small detached plates are also important evidence in fossil research. This organism connects studies of living cells with those of marine sediments.[1][2]
References
- Manton & Leedale1969 — The cell surface of Coccolithus pelagicus
- Nannotax — Coccolithus pelagicus
- Nannotax — The geological record of Coccolithus
- Monteiro et al.2016 — Why marine phytoplankton calcify
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute — Coccolithus pelagicus
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute — Coccolithus pelagicus
- Paleobiology Database — Stratigraphic records of Watznaueria fossils
- 2018 study — Size and shape of Watznaueria plates
- 2021 study — Calcareous plates and coccospheres
Research questions
Do organisms that make similar plates all live in the same way? The pelagicus and braarudii groups are compared through plate size, distribution, and genetic differences. Whether to treat them as subspecies or separate species is also a subject of taxonomic research.[2]
Observation
Start with one elliptical plate and widen your gaze to the rounded whole formed by overlapping plates. Remembering that tiny, stone-hard plates surround a living single cell makes the view more intriguing.[1][2]
Related organisms
Watznaueria barnesiaeCoccolithophyceaeSource time context (not species duration) · ≈ 140–66 MaReading marine time through tiny calcareous plates
Explore the different records of bodies and time preserved by these two organisms. Coccolithus pelagicus is a single-celled organism wrapped in small calcareous plates. It is phytoplankton that drifts in the sea and uses light to live. Its fossil record extends from the Paleocene to the present. The Paleocene spanned approximately 66–56 million years ago. Watznaueria barnesiae is a fossil microorganism with several calcareous plates covering the outside of its cell. The rounded covering formed by these plates is called a coccosphere. Its occurrence strata in the current fossil database are summarized as Cretaceous material, approximately 140–66 million years old. Tiny calcareous plates and their coverings reveal the form of microorganisms of that time.