Diatom - Middle Antarctic Ocean Producers (Plants)

Diatom
By David Darling
The Internet Encyclopedia of Science

Any member of a class of unicellular algae, known formally as Bacillariophyceae, that live in cold waters of relatively low salinity. Diatoms come a wide variety of beautiful, symmetrical shapes. All have shell-like, brittle cell walls made out of silica (glass) and pectin. The walls, which are porous to allow materials in to and out of the cell, consist of two interlocking halves that fit together like a pillbox.

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