Bacteriastrum, found as a fairly abundant member of the surface phytoplankton community in a plankton-net sample taken off Martha's Vineyward in Massachusetts, USA. Image by J. Cole.
This is a termperate species often occurring in coastal waters. The cells are usually slightly longer than wide and bear long setae arranged around the valve margin, setae of adacent cells are fused for some distance before branching. The setae of the terminal cells have different morphology.
