What are diatoms?

Diatoms are unicellular aquatic algae with about 10 000 described species in 250 genera. They can be found in every body of water everywhere on earth. Just like other green plants, diatoms contain chlorophyll and photosynthesize. However, they are single cells and have no need for any of the structures found in plants. Diatoms have a silica outer shell called a frustule that protects the cell and its content. Diatoms can be astonishingly beautiful and are studied and collected by taxonomists and amateur microscopists everywhere. Want to learn more about the beauty of diatoms? Just click and see!