aggregate

Description:

Cyanidium (sigh-ann-id-ee-um) is a small coccoid RED ALGA. Although its colour is exactly the same as that of many prokaryotic blue-green algae, careful scrutiny of the cells shows that the pigments is not distributed throughout the cell, but is within a compartment (filling most of the cell). This is an aggregate of cells, aggregates being common in nature. Material from Nymph Creek, a thermal site within Yellowstone Park, photograph by Kathy Sheehan and David Patterson.