Chaetoceros decipiens
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Taxonomic Group: Diatom
Trophic Status: Autotrophic
Size Range: 9-30 μm wide (LUMCON Guide); 9-84 μm wide (Cupp 1943, Tomas 1997, Horner 2002); 30-35 μm wide (Rines & Hargraves 1988)
Key Characteristics: Chains straight and stiff, cells with sharp corners that touch; setae without basal part, fusing together for some distance then becoming forked; terminal setae thicker than others, first divergent then becoming parallel to chain axis, also sometimes with rows of pores; several small chloroplasts
Confused With: Chaetoceros lorenzianus, which also has pores on the terminal setae, but has setae fused only at point of exit from margin, and occasionally a short distance before diverging (shorter fused length than C. decipiens)
Toxin: None known