home   Printer friendly version Add to site
Advanced search
Time & Space Fossil Gallery Famous Flora & Fauna
Careers Resources K-12 Collections PaleoPeople

Radiolarians

See More Images
(3 total)

Parvicingula sp.
Parvicingula sp.
© 2009 Instituto de Geología, UNAM

Pantanellium sp.
Pantanellium sp.
© 2009 Instituto de Geología, UNAM

Sethocapsa sp.
Sethocapsa sp.
© 2009 Instituto de Geología, UNAM

What are Radiolarians? Radiolarians are unicellular protists that build external, glassy skeletons (tests) of silica. Their intricate tests come in various shapes and often have delicate spikes and projections that help increase buoyancy. Most radiolarians live as single cells, but some form long colonies up to 1 meter long. Radiolaria are members of the marine plankton, floating around the ocean at the whim of currents.

First known fossil occurrence: Cambrian.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

Cool Radiolarians links:

Search for images of Radiolarians on Google

help