APHOTOMARINE
An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.
Toxisarcon alba Wilding, 2002 - Underwater photography by Chris Rickard (Foraminifera images)
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Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- on seabed 1
Toxisarcon alba
- on seabed 1
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- close-up of the opaque, white, sticky cell body 1
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- close-up of the opaque, white, sticky cell body 2
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- on seabed 2
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- mostly covered by sediment 1
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- single specimen covered by sediment 1
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- two specimens covered by sediment 1
Astrorhizid foram
Toxisarcon alba
- sediment covered specimen with gloved hand for scale 1
Images of this species were very kindly supplied by Chris Rickard for the purpose of displaying this important and rarely seen species on APHOTOMARINE. The species is unique among British foraminiferans and has been referred to as 'giant foraminifera', it is a very large foram indeed at approximately 18-40 mm diameter.
This large and rare species is only found in the bottom of sea lochs on the west coast of Scotland, at a depth of between 10-30m, so is only observed by diving. The species has been obseved in lochs such as Loch Torridon, Loch Linnhe and Loch Duich. This species is usually found covered in sediment, so can be very tricky to spot.
The images are strictly ©Chis Rickard and may not be commercially used copied without his express permission.
Chris has numerous images of this species, the ones above were chosen by use here to give people an idea of what this species looks like in-situ, both covered and uncovered.
Ref:
Taxonomy and ecology of Toxisarcon alba, sp nov from Loch Linnhe, west coast of Scotland, UK by TA Wilding, in The Journal of Foraminiferal Research 32(4):358-363 ยท October 2002.
TORRIDON 2000 SEASEARCH Report of a SEASEARCH survey in Loch Torridon, Wester Ross, August 18th-20th 2000 by Sue Scott.
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.