So, the idea here is that we can use the commenting tools to discuss anything about the site or coccolithophores. If discussions get long we can split the page into different topics. If no-one says anything we may quietly remove the page.
However, we will read every comment posted here so feel free to use this for:
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If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find a heading "Add Comment" and a form to fill in. To reply to a comment click the curvedarrow symbol below and to the right of it. The same layout is there on every taxon page. For a bit more advice you can see the guidelines.
Comments (44)
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Tatiana Tsagaraki
(Bergen, Norway)
Hello, Just been through the pictures on the webpage but can't find something that gets me closer to figuring out what this is. Any ideas?
Many thanks!
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
Tatiana
That is a fairly well known undescribed Syracosphaera species - it is on here as
Syracosphaera sp. A.
Those are lovely images, it is ok if I post them on the relevant page. I'll also put you in touch via email with someone who else who has some images and is describing the species.
Jeremy
Tatiana Tsagaraki
(Bergen, Norway)
Thank you, I missed those, sorry! It's fine to post the pictures yes, just for reference this sample was from 50m depth and taken between Madeira and the Gibraltar straights in May 2019
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
Thank you Tatiana
that is much appreciated - and i will look forward to see more results of your work.
Jeremy
Karine Leblanc
(Marseille, France)
dear all,
I have an identification quizz for you all. I found this in the subtropical Pacific Ocean (near Tonga volcano ridge) in a sediment trap moored at -170 m. It looks like calcite and was found in a sample with a large amount of coccolithophores (at least 25 different species). I was wondering whether this perfect ice cream cone could be a coccolith or something that you already stumbled upon ? Thanks a lot for your help ! Cheers.
That is definitely not a coccolith but it certainly is nice. I agree it looks calcareous and I suspect it might be the proloculus (first chamber) of a very small foram - it has both a terminal aperture and pores on the shell. There are some microfossil groups on facebok which might help with an identification.
Jeremy
Karine Leblanc
(Marseille, France)
Thanks for your response! I'll try to investigate on the foram side...Cheers
Roque Aguado
(Linares, Spain)
Hi,
I don't know if this was a mistake. I think the fourth (otherwise of excellent quality) picture placed under Hayesites irregularis (named KCooper-Rucinolithus irregularis.jpg) in the nannotax website probably is more compatible with the description of Hayesites albiensis. The specimen appering in this picture has a marked stellate and regular outline having only six long rays.
Cheers,
R. Aguado.
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
Hi Roque,
yes, you are right, in terms of the species concepts outlined here this specimen clearly ought to be in albiensis, I have transferred the image.
thanks Jeremy
NB If you are commenting on an image it is easiest if you add the comment on the bottom of the taxon page the image is on.
Ian
(Coventry, UK)
Hi
We're looking at samples of freshwater collected for us by school groups, we're actually looking for viruses under TEM but we as hard pellet ( 200K RCF ) after a 6 micron filter we get everything and we're pulling out a lot of what look like coccoliths. I can't find much information on fresh water species but we have structures resembling Palusphaera and others. Are there any resources about fresh water species?
cheers
Ian
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
Ian
Thanks for posting that image. Those are not coccoliths but non-calcified scales. Actually quite a few different protists use scales to form composite exoskeletons and these are variously formed of resistant organics, silica or calcite (coccoliths). I am not an expert on these groups but I think your images are of Paraphysomonas and if you do a google search on that it should get results. i would like to have more images of these sort of things in the non-coco section, so if you could send me some images that would be appreciated.
cheers Jeremy
Ian
(coventry, UK)
thanks! That's really useful information. I'll sort some images out for you - might take a while as we have around a thousand frames to go through. We also have map refs and some basic water quality info for each collection site. Drop me an email and I'll send them as zipped download links. The actual project is here - http://www.warwick.ac.uk/virushunters
cheers
Ian
Chengxu Zhou
(China)
Dear Professor Young,
I am working on several strains of the species of genus Pleurochrysis (I found the name has been changed to Chrysotila). These strains were isolated from aquaculture pool and bloomed in shrimp pools. The bloom did harm to the organisms. However, I am not quite sure what the exact name of the species is. Could I email you some of the SEM pictures and please help me to identify the species?
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
Dear Chengxu Zhou
Thank you for sending those images (I have unblocked the upload of them). I think they are, C. pseudoroscoffensis, but I am not an expert on this group of coccolithophores. You might like to try to contact Ian Probert of Roscoff Marine Lab in France.
Jeremy
Chengxu Zhou
Dear Dr.Young,
Thank you very much for your reply. I will try to contact Dr.Probert.
Chengxu
Chengxu Zhou
Dear Dr. Young,
Thank you very much!
Chengxu
fatemeh
(mashhad, Iran)
Dear Prof. J.Young
Is it possible to place about "ascidian spicules" or other calcareous nannofossil-liked forms in this site(especially for Jurassic system)?
Could you grant me such a permission? and if your answer is affirmative, please send me the right reference detail for citation.
Many thanks,
Shaka
Jeremy Young
(Tonbridge, UK)
I have answered this directly, but for the record this use is fine. In vernal you should include attribution along the lines of image from nannotax website (www.mikrotax.org/Nannotax3 image JRYSEM-207-21a.JPG), if the image is being used to illustrate a taxonomic concept (as opposed to just as generic picture of a coccolith) then you should also check the filename and the image metadata (the text below the image when you click to enlarge it) and record the source of the image.
Jeremy Young
(UK)
June 2018 - upgrade of Neogene content.
Jim Bergen, Eric de Kaenel and colleagues published a set of five major papers on Neogene and Oligocene nannofossils at the end of 2017 in the JNR. These were based on a 15 year research project to develop the BP Neogene Stratigraphic Framework, integrating results from the Gulf of Mexico and Ceara Rise ODP site 154. This included revision of numerous species, > 1000 new high quality colour light micrographs, a wealth of new stratigraphic range data and description of ca 65 new species. This is the most important work on Neogene nannofossil for at least the last twenty years. Incorporating the results into Nannotax has required a major effort - and a lot of adjustment is still needed. The most affected parts are the sections on Discoaster, Helicospheara and Sphenolithus.
Please feel free to add comments - especially where you disagree with the species concepts or how they have been presented here. Jeremy
Siti Umiyatun Choiriah
(Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Dear Prof. J.Young
I will conduct a study on the Paleoclimate Quaternary (Pleistocene-Holocene) Glacial-Interglacial at North East Java Basin, Indonesia.
But I am still confused. Is Climate Change at Quarternary can be recorded on the development and variation Nannoplankton Species?
What Nannoplankton species can be used for the cold Climate founders especially that developed in the Quaternary Period.
That is all and thank you
Umiyatun Choiriah
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Siti
This site is not really the place for this type of question - the coccoliths listserver would be a better choice. However, this is not a straightforward question. Nannofossils evolved fast in the Quaternary and as a result they are not as easy to use for paleoceanography as we might hope. There are exceptions, for instance Florisphaera profunda is an excellent paleoproductivity indicator, but you may not get very strong glacial-interglacial contrasts and should combine your data wiith other proxies.
Jeremy
fatemeh
(Mashhad, Iran)
Hi dear prof. Young
I'd like to know if it's possible to add another option for sorting genera and spices by image based on their lateral view too?
Regards.
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Fatemeh -we can't really do that but you can select for basic shape placolith vs murolith vs planolith, for forms with a spine, for high or low rims etc. The system is a bit compplex but if you experiemnt you should be able to do most types of search you want.
Jeremy
kamran
(Beijing, China)
what's a difference between the Paleocene Eocene Thermal maximum and Eocene thermal maximum? can we deal both phenomenons as same single process?
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Kamran - the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a short interval of elevated paleotemperatures at the Paleocene -Eocene boundary - you can find out much more about it easily with a google search. The term Eocene Thermal Maximum is not conventionally used but the term (Early) Eocene Thermal optimum is used for the extended period of maximum temperatures in the Early Eocene.
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Tags, Metrics and Advanced Search - for INA16 in Athens we have launched a major upgrade to the site. All cenozoic taxa have been reviewed and data added in terms of a set of 'tags' for morphological characters and 'metrics' (coccolith and coccosphere size, liths per sphere, elements per lith). This data has been applied systematically and can be used to from the Advanced Search page (Tools Menu) to aid identification. The system is a bit complex so do read the explanatory page (About Nannotax menu).
Jeremy
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Revised recent comments page I have just now revised the recent comments page so that it shows replies below the original comments. This should make it easier to see how comments are addressed (and in some cases has resulted in us finding comments we had not answered)
Ovie Collins
(Lagos, Nigeria)
Great! I found this site. Grateful to the Organizers.
I sometimes have difficulty identifying these Nannofossils forms on Light microscope, because some of them looks alike.
Please I also wish to know the BEST method for preparing Nannofossils Slide for enhanced recovery.
Lastly at what temperature should these slides be dried using the Electrical Hotplate.
Regards
Ovie Collins
Jeremy Young
(UK)
Methods - there is a useful overview of methods in Bown (1998) Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. For drying slides it is best to use a fairly low temperature (around 60°C), as you do not want to boil the water.
Best way to enhance recovery? that depends on the sample but the best technique to start with is almost always to do a direct smear (i.e. mix a little sediment in a drop of water on slide and then smear it over the slide with a toothpick). Then having seen what is in the rock you can try experimenting with how to improve recovery - but for most routine work we just use smear slides.
LM identification - they are not always easy, but as you study them you will learn more.
Kurosh
(Mashhad, Iran)
hi my dear friend
please introduce me a reference or definition for sister,daughter and other terms relate them?
Jeremy Young
Kurosh
We are using these terms as indicators of relative taxonomic position. So for example all the species inside a genus can be described as daughter taxa of that genus and they are sisters of each other. The whole database is organised hierarchically so it is quite convenient to use these sort of terms.
Jeremy
Kurosh
(Mashhad, Iran)
hi prof
I`m also as my teacher
That's great,thanks.
Kurosh
(Mashhad, Iran)
hi again prof
And what a bout daughter and granddaughter?
Jeremy Young
Kurosh
Sorry if this is confusing - there is nothing really ver technical about this we are just using the terms to indicate relative position in the classification, as used on the site. So if we consider the family Rhabdospheraecae its daughter taxa are are all the genera within it -Acanthoica, Algirosphara etc. and its granddaughter taxa are all the species within it - Acanthoica acanthifera, Acanthoica acanthos etc.
Comments
(44)
Hello, Just been through the pictures on the webpage but can't find something that gets me closer to figuring out what this is. Any ideas?
Many thanks!
Tatiana
That is a fairly well known undescribed Syracosphaera species - it is on here as
Syracosphaera sp. A.
Those are lovely images, it is ok if I post them on the relevant page. I'll also put you in touch via email with someone who else who has some images and is describing the species.
Jeremy
Thank you, I missed those, sorry! It's fine to post the pictures yes, just for reference this sample was from 50m depth and taken between Madeira and the Gibraltar straights in May 2019
Thank you Tatiana
that is much appreciated - and i will look forward to see more results of your work.
Jeremy
dear all,
I have an identification quizz for you all. I found this in the subtropical Pacific Ocean (near Tonga volcano ridge) in a sediment trap moored at -170 m. It looks like calcite and was found in a sample with a large amount of coccolithophores (at least 25 different species). I was wondering whether this perfect ice cream cone could be a coccolith or something that you already stumbled upon ? Thanks a lot for your help ! Cheers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GdlWxigAOg_paAHpNA-dkNWlkJQ16Acj/view?usp=sharing
Karine
That is definitely not a coccolith but it certainly is nice. I agree it looks calcareous and I suspect it might be the proloculus (first chamber) of a very small foram - it has both a terminal aperture and pores on the shell. There are some microfossil groups on facebok which might help with an identification.
Jeremy
Thanks for your response! I'll try to investigate on the foram side...Cheers
Hi,
I don't know if this was a mistake. I think the fourth (otherwise of excellent quality) picture placed under Hayesites irregularis (named KCooper-Rucinolithus irregularis.jpg) in the nannotax website probably is more compatible with the description of Hayesites albiensis. The specimen appering in this picture has a marked stellate and regular outline having only six long rays.
Cheers,
R. Aguado.
Hi Roque,
yes, you are right, in terms of the species concepts outlined here this specimen clearly ought to be in albiensis, I have transferred the image.
thanks Jeremy
NB If you are commenting on an image it is easiest if you add the comment on the bottom of the taxon page the image is on.
Hi
We're looking at samples of freshwater collected for us by school groups, we're actually looking for viruses under TEM but we as hard pellet ( 200K RCF ) after a 6 micron filter we get everything and we're pulling out a lot of what look like coccoliths. I can't find much information on fresh water species but we have structures resembling Palusphaera and others. Are there any resources about fresh water species?
cheers
Ian
Ian
Thanks for posting that image. Those are not coccoliths but non-calcified scales. Actually quite a few different protists use scales to form composite exoskeletons and these are variously formed of resistant organics, silica or calcite (coccoliths). I am not an expert on these groups but I think your images are of Paraphysomonas and if you do a google search on that it should get results. i would like to have more images of these sort of things in the non-coco section, so if you could send me some images that would be appreciated.
cheers Jeremy
thanks! That's really useful information. I'll sort some images out for you - might take a while as we have around a thousand frames to go through. We also have map refs and some basic water quality info for each collection site. Drop me an email and I'll send them as zipped download links. The actual project is here - http://www.warwick.ac.uk/virushunters
cheers
Ian
Dear Professor Young,
I am working on several strains of the species of genus Pleurochrysis (I found the name has been changed to Chrysotila). These strains were isolated from aquaculture pool and bloomed in shrimp pools. The bloom did harm to the organisms. However, I am not quite sure what the exact name of the species is. Could I email you some of the SEM pictures and please help me to identify the species?
Dear Chengxu Zhou
Thank you for sending those images (I have unblocked the upload of them). I think they are, C. pseudoroscoffensis, but I am not an expert on this group of coccolithophores. You might like to try to contact Ian Probert of Roscoff Marine Lab in France.
Jeremy
Dear Dr.Young,
Thank you very much for your reply. I will try to contact Dr.Probert.
Chengxu
Dear Dr. Young,
Thank you very much!
Chengxu
Dear Prof. J.Young
Is it possible to place about "ascidian spicules" or other calcareous nannofossil-liked forms in this site(especially for Jurassic system)?
Regards.
Hi there is some information on ascidian spicules in the "Other Groups" area - see this page http://http://www.mikrotax.org/Nannotax3/index.php?id=20011 - Jeremy
Hi,
I'd like to use one of the images of coccolithophores (File name: JRYSEM-207-21a.JPG) for my PhD thesis. Based on the provided info in the "citation© right" section of this website, I must ask for permission for the works with publication potential.
Could you grant me such a permission? and if your answer is affirmative, please send me the right reference detail for citation.
Many thanks,
Shaka
I have answered this directly, but for the record this use is fine. In vernal you should include attribution along the lines of image from nannotax website (www.mikrotax.org/Nannotax3 image JRYSEM-207-21a.JPG), if the image is being used to illustrate a taxonomic concept (as opposed to just as generic picture of a coccolith) then you should also check the filename and the image metadata (the text below the image when you click to enlarge it) and record the source of the image.
June 2018 - upgrade of Neogene content.
Jim Bergen, Eric de Kaenel and colleagues published a set of five major papers on Neogene and Oligocene nannofossils at the end of 2017 in the JNR. These were based on a 15 year research project to develop the BP Neogene Stratigraphic Framework, integrating results from the Gulf of Mexico and Ceara Rise ODP site 154. This included revision of numerous species, > 1000 new high quality colour light micrographs, a wealth of new stratigraphic range data and description of ca 65 new species. This is the most important work on Neogene nannofossil for at least the last twenty years. Incorporating the results into Nannotax has required a major effort - and a lot of adjustment is still needed. The most affected parts are the sections on Discoaster, Helicospheara and Sphenolithus.
Please feel free to add comments - especially where you disagree with the species concepts or how they have been presented here. Jeremy
Dear Prof. J.Young
I will conduct a study on the Paleoclimate Quaternary (Pleistocene-Holocene) Glacial-Interglacial at North East Java Basin, Indonesia.
But I am still confused. Is Climate Change at Quarternary can be recorded on the development and variation Nannoplankton Species?
What Nannoplankton species can be used for the cold Climate founders especially that developed in the Quaternary Period.
That is all and thank you
Umiyatun Choiriah
Siti
This site is not really the place for this type of question - the coccoliths listserver would be a better choice. However, this is not a straightforward question. Nannofossils evolved fast in the Quaternary and as a result they are not as easy to use for paleoceanography as we might hope. There are exceptions, for instance Florisphaera profunda is an excellent paleoproductivity indicator, but you may not get very strong glacial-interglacial contrasts and should combine your data wiith other proxies.
Jeremy
Hi dear prof. Young
I'd like to know if it's possible to add another option for sorting genera and spices by image based on their lateral view too?
Regards.
Fatemeh -we can't really do that but you can select for basic shape placolith vs murolith vs planolith, for forms with a spine, for high or low rims etc. The system is a bit compplex but if you experiemnt you should be able to do most types of search you want.
Jeremy
what's a difference between the Paleocene Eocene Thermal maximum and Eocene thermal maximum? can we deal both phenomenons as same single process?
Kamran - the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a short interval of elevated paleotemperatures at the Paleocene -Eocene boundary - you can find out much more about it easily with a google search. The term Eocene Thermal Maximum is not conventionally used but the term (Early) Eocene Thermal optimum is used for the extended period of maximum temperatures in the Early Eocene.
Tags, Metrics and Advanced Search - for INA16 in Athens we have launched a major upgrade to the site. All cenozoic taxa have been reviewed and data added in terms of a set of 'tags' for morphological characters and 'metrics' (coccolith and coccosphere size, liths per sphere, elements per lith). This data has been applied systematically and can be used to from the Advanced Search page (Tools Menu) to aid identification. The system is a bit complex so do read the explanatory page (About Nannotax menu).
Jeremy
Revised recent comments page I have just now revised the recent comments page so that it shows replies below the original comments. This should make it easier to see how comments are addressed (and in some cases has resulted in us finding comments we had not answered)
Great! I found this site. Grateful to the Organizers.
I sometimes have difficulty identifying these Nannofossils forms on Light microscope, because some of them looks alike.
Please I also wish to know the BEST method for preparing Nannofossils Slide for enhanced recovery.
Lastly at what temperature should these slides be dried using the Electrical Hotplate.
Regards
Ovie Collins
Methods - there is a useful overview of methods in Bown (1998) Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy. For drying slides it is best to use a fairly low temperature (around 60°C), as you do not want to boil the water.
Best way to enhance recovery? that depends on the sample but the best technique to start with is almost always to do a direct smear (i.e. mix a little sediment in a drop of water on slide and then smear it over the slide with a toothpick). Then having seen what is in the rock you can try experimenting with how to improve recovery - but for most routine work we just use smear slides.
LM identification - they are not always easy, but as you study them you will learn more.
hi my dear friend
please introduce me a reference or definition for sister,daughter and other terms relate them?
Kurosh
We are using these terms as indicators of relative taxonomic position. So for example all the species inside a genus can be described as daughter taxa of that genus and they are sisters of each other. The whole database is organised hierarchically so it is quite convenient to use these sort of terms.
Jeremy
hi prof
I`m also as my teacher
That's great,thanks.
hi again prof
And what a bout daughter and granddaughter?
Kurosh
Sorry if this is confusing - there is nothing really ver technical about this we are just using the terms to indicate relative position in the classification, as used on the site. So if we consider the family Rhabdospheraecae its daughter taxa are are all the genera within it -Acanthoica, Algirosphara etc. and its granddaughter taxa are all the species within it - Acanthoica acanthifera, Acanthoica acanthos etc.