Radiolarians are single-celled marine organisms, similar to
foraminifera, which form siliceous shells with varying
morphologies.  Radiolarians first emerged approximately 600
million years ago and are still common in oceans today, from the
tropics to the Arctic.   They inhabit depths from several
hundred metres to the near surface, and generally have a
planktonic lifestyle, floating in the ocean currents.   Why
study radiolarians?  Their abundance and long fossil record make
radiolarians extremely useful for dating sedimentary rocks and
understanding oceans of the past.   Find out more Glass models
of radiolarians Radiolarian collection  Learn about our
radiolarian collection, which contains historically important
material collected by Ernst Haeckel.