Areola
Perforation, or pore, in the diatom valve. The plural form is areolae.
Alternative Term
punctum
Singular of puncta. A general term for a round or oval perforation in the silica wall of a diatom.
Citations
Round, F.E., Crawford, R.M. and Mann, D.G. (1990). The Diatoms. Biology and Morphology of the Genera. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 747 pp.
Image Credit: Marina Potapova
A single areola of A. crassipunctata in SEM, scale bar is equal to 0.5 µm.
Image Credit: Marina Potapova
A valve of A. crassipunctata, showing the many areolae on the valve mantle.
Image Credit: Marina Potapova
Areolae are often aligned in rows to form striae. In the genus Navicula, the areolae are elongated in the apical direction forming “lineolae”, or lineolate striae. This image shows the lineolate striae of N. tripunctata in SEM.