Name of plankton: Thecosome pteropods

Where sample was found: Hydrostation SGiovannoni Cruise, September 8, 2016, 0-200m

Project: BIOS-SCOPE artistic collaboration

Photo credit: Samantha Newton

What role do these organisms play in the ecosystem: Thecosome pteropods are a type of shelled swimming snail that are part of the zooplankton. With diverse shapes and lifestyles they are part of the diel vertical community, contribute to grazing of the surface community, and make up ~13% of the calcium carbonate export from surface waters to the deep in the Sargasso Sea.

Interesting facts: This photo features five genus of thecosomes (Diacria, Cavolinia, Diacavolinia, Clio and Limacina), all collected at night during two 1-hour tows of the surface waters at Hydrostation S.