Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi is a calcareous and belongs to the order Coccolithophorida. It comes from the polar regions to the equator world before and is a key species in the marine ecosystem. Coccolithophores Emiliania huxleyi as hold a share of almost 50 percent in the biological carbon pump of the oceans and provide a third of the sea- bound production of calcium carbonate.

Emiliania huxleyi is a unicellular phytoplankton, covered with microscopic calcite slices. Named after the British scientist, Thomas Henry Huxley, Emiliania huxleyi is the world's most important representative of Coccolithophorida.

Algal blooms by Emiliania huxleyi can reach enormous proportions, possibly up to 100,000 km2.

Emiliania huxleyi was chosen by the German Botanical Society for the alga of 2009 due to their climatological relevance.