Editing Microfossil (section)

===Siliceous===
[[Siliceous ooze]] is a type of biogenic [[pelagic sediment]] located on the [[Abyssal|deep]] [[ocean floor]]. Siliceous oozes are the least common of the deep sea sediments, and make up approximately 15% of the ocean floor.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Mulder|first1=Thierry|title=Progress in Deep-Sea Sedimentology|date=2011|work=Deep-Sea Sediments|pages=1–24|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=9780444530004 | doi = 10.1016/b978-0-444-53000-4.00001-9 |last2=Hüneke|first2=Heiko|last3=Van Loon|first3=A.J.}}</ref> Oozes are defined as sediments which contain at least 30% skeletal remains of pelagic microorganisms.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bohrmann|first1=Gerhard|last2=Abelmann|first2=Andrea|last3=Gersonde|first3=Rainer|last4=Hubberten|first4=Hans|last5=Kuhn|first5=Gerhard|date=1994|title=Pure siliceous ooze, a diagenetic environment for early chert formation |journal=Geology|volume=22|issue=3|pages=207|doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0207:psoade>2.3.co;2|bibcode=1994Geo....22..207B}}</ref> Siliceous oozes are largely composed of the silica based skeletons of microscopic marine organisms such as [[diatom]]s and [[radiolarian]]s. Other components of siliceous oozes near continental margins may include terrestrially derived silica particles and sponge spicules. Siliceous oozes are composed of skeletons made from opal silica [[SiO2|Si(O<sub>2</sub>)]], as opposed to [[calcareous ooze]]s, which are made from skeletons of calcium carbonate organisms (i.e. [[coccolithophore]]s). Silica (Si) is a bioessential element and is efficiently recycled in the marine environment through the [[silica cycle]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=DeMaster|first=David J.|date= October 1981 |title=The supply and accumulation of silica in the marine environment |journal=Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta|volume=45|issue=10|pages=1715–1732|doi=10.1016/0016-7037(81)90006-5 |bibcode=1981GeCoA..45.1715D}}</ref> Distance from land masses, water depth and ocean fertility are all factors that affect the opal silica content in seawater and the presence of siliceous oozes.

{|class="wikitable"
! colspan=8 |{{center|[[Siliceous ooze]]}}
|-
! mineral<br />forms
! protist<br />involved
!
! name of skeleton
! width=100px | typical size
! colspan=2 |
|-
| width=90px  rowspan=2 align=center | [[Silicon oxide|SiO<sub>2</sub>]]<br />[[silica]]<br />[[quartz]]<br />[[glass]]<br />[[opal]]<br />[[chert]]
| [[diatom]]
| style="background:#000000;"| [[File:Lyrella hennedy 1600x contrast invertion.jpg|90px]]
| [[frustule]]
| 0.002 to 0.2&nbsp;mm{{hsp}}<ref name="HasleSyvertsen1996">{{cite book|first1=Grethe R.|last1=Hasle|first2=Erik E. |last2=Syvertsen |first3=Karen A. |last3=Steidinger |first4=Karl|last4=Tangen|editor-first=Carmelo R.|editor-last=Tomas|title=Identifying Marine Diatoms and Dinoflagellates|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQxPtwonlqoC|access-date=2013-11-13|date=1996-01-25|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-053441-1|pages=5–385|chapter=Marine Diatoms}}</ref>
| [[File:Stephanopyxis grunowii.jpg|100px]] 
| diatom microfossil from 40 million years ago
|-
| [[radiolarian]]
| style="background:#000000;"| [[File:Calocycloma sp. - Radiolarian (32163186535).jpg|90px]]
| [[Test (biology)|test]] or shell
| 0.1 to 0.2&nbsp;mm{{hsp}}
| [[File:Radiolarian - Heliodiscus umbonatus (Ehr.), Haeckel (28187768550).jpg|100px]]
| elaborate silica shell of a radiolarian
|-
|}

<gallery mode=packed heights=160px style=float:left;>
File:Diatomaceous Earth BrightField.jpg|[[Diatomaceous earth]] is a soft, [[siliceous]], [[sedimentary rock]] made up of microfossils in the form of the [[frustule]]s (shells) of centric and pennate [[diatom]]s (click to magnify)
File:Detail, CSIRO ScienceImage 7632 SEM diatom (cropped).jpg|{{center|[[Centric diatom]]<br />(radial symmetry)}}
File:Pennate diatoms (3075304186).jpg|{{center|[[Pennate diatom]]<br />(bilateral symmetry)}}
</gallery>

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | width1    = 195
 | image1    = The silicoflagellate Dictyocha fibula.png
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = {{center|[[Silicoflagellate]]}}
 | width2    = 130
 | image2    = Radiolarian - Podocyrtis ampla (29391267424).jpg
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = {{center|[[Radiolarian]]}}
}}

[[File:Phytolith 3.png|thumb|upright=1.3| {{center|Phytolith from a leaf of the tree<br />''[[Cornus controversa]]''<ref name=Ge2020>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1038/s41598-020-72547-w|title = Phytoliths in selected broad-leaved trees in China|year = 2020|last1 = Ge|first1 = Yong|last2 = Lu|first2 = Houyuan|last3 = Wang|first3 = Can|last4 = Gao|first4 = Xing|journal = Scientific Reports|volume = 10|issue = 1|page = 15577|pmid = 32968165|pmc = 7512002|bibcode = 2020NatSR..1015577G}}</ref> • <small>scale bar 20 μm</small>}}]]

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[[Phytoliths]] (Greek for ''plant stones'') are rigid, microscopic structures made of [[silica]], found in some plant tissues and persisting after the decay of the plant. These plants take up silica from the soil, whereupon it is deposited within different intracellular and extracellular structures of the plant.  Phytoliths come in varying shapes and sizes. The term "phytolith" is sometimes used to refer to all mineral secretions by plants, but more commonly refers to siliceous plant remains.<ref name="Piperno, Dolores R. 2006">Piperno, Dolores R. (2006). Phytoliths: A Comprehensive Guide for Archaeologists and Paleoecologists. AltaMira Press {{ISBN|0759103852}}.</ref>

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