Diatoms
Biology and Morphology of the Genera

This book presents a wide-ranging introduction to the diatoms together with an illustrated description of over 250 genera. Diatoms are important as perhaps the commonest group of autotrophic plants on earth and are abundant in all waters and on soils and moist surfaces. The introduction describes the diatom cell in detail, the structure of the wall (often extremely beautiful in design), the cell contents and aspects of life cycle and cell division. The generic atlas section is the first account of diatom systematics since 1928 (Karsten in Engler and Prantl: Die Nauturlichen Pflanzenfamilien) and each generic description is accompanied by scanning electron micrographs to show the characteristic structure. Most of the latter have been prepared specially for this work from the authors' own collections. The Diatoms will be the standard reference work on the group for years to come and is an essential reference volume.

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'… this is the most comprehensive volume on the biostratigraphic use of plankton microfossils available today. In this age of pluralism it will take its place amongst the classics in our field and serve as the standard reference for the next generation of micropaleontologists'. Micropaleontology

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Product details

• Date Published: December 2007
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521714693
• length: 760 pages

• dimensions: 246 x 189 x 38 mm
• weight: 1.33kg
• availability: Available