Organics

Id	Identification Type	Name	Description	Distinguishing Features	Tags
57	Algae	Algae
137	Algae	Algal organic matter	Generally amorphous, yellowish or brown or greenish brown, and typically embedding diatom frustules, carbonate minerals, fragmentary organic debris, diagenetic Fe-bearing minerals (sulfides and oxides), and other sediment components in a pigmented matrix.
87	Arthropod	Arthropod
127	Invertebrate	Bivalve
141	Invertebrate	Bryozoa
160	Plant	Carbonized Organic Matter
78	Plant	Charcoal	Fragmentary remains of combusted organic matter, recognized by fully black color, sharp grain boundaries, brittle fracture, and frequently a sparkly surface reflectance when viewed in reflected light.
100	Algae	Charophyte	Multicellular charophyte algae such as _Chara_ form calcium carbonate (calcite) encrustations on their surfaces. Transparent colorless to murky or stained with black. Nonpleochroic. High birefringence (small irregular calcite crystals). Irregular shapes include tubes and nodules. Moderate relief. _Chara_ is typically found in calcium-bicarbonate waters; other genera are found in fresher water.	bumpy high-birefringence	Carbonate transparent colorless
125	Arthropod	Chironomid		shell carapace brown amber insect
161	Invertebrate	Chitin
128	Algae	Chlorophyte
122	Algae	Chrysophyte
126	Arthropod	Cladocera
63	Algae	Coccolithophore
77	Arthropod	Crustacean
93	Algae	Cyanobacteria	When preserved, cyanobacterial remains have a characteristic blue-green pigment. Filaments may or may not be visible. Occur in zones of rapid deposition and anoxia, sometimes associated with diagenetic minerals also formed in reducing environments. Likeliest to be found in very recent sediments, as oxidation of pigments occurs rapidly.	Blue-green	Filamentous
101	Arthropod	Daphnia
129	Algae	Desmids
79	Algae	Diatom	Transparent colorless to slightly brown or red tinted. Nonpleochroic. Isotropic. Many different shapes; in two-dimensional view these may appear as circles, rectangles of varying aspect ratios, canoe-shapes, banana-shapes, etc. moderate relief. Occur in essentially all lakes and rivers, but may not be preserved in sediments due to high- or low-pH conditions or silica undersaturation of bottom waters.	Isotropic Patterned	circular transparent colorless rice-shape
89	Arthropod	Ephydra
81	Fish	Fish
64	Invertebrate	Foraminifera
83	Invertebrate	Gastropod
80	Arthropod	Insect
140	Plant	Mycorrhizae
92	Arthropod	Ostracode
94	Algae	Phacotus	Transparent colorless spheres show white and occasionally pastel birefringence colors. A dark ragged "X" across the sphere (also described as a pinwheel, baseball seams) rotates as the stage is rotated. Phacotus is a lacustrine green alga with a calcite lorica, and can be abundant in temperate hardwater lakes. Lorica with two slightly different appearances in cross-polarized light (one sometimes with a red ring near the perimeter) may be views of the outside and inside of loricae, as they commonly separate after death.	Circular Moderate-birefringence Pinwheel-extinction	carbonate lorica
99	Plant	Phytolith	Phytoliths are literally “plant stones”, and can include deposits of amorphous silica or calcium oxylate. For purposes of this site, we will be considering deposits of amorphous silica, deposited as secondary cell walls within plants. Grasses are the source of most of the phytoliths found on smear slides, however sedges, cattails, and horsetail are also prolific producers of phytoliths. The cell walls are three-dimensional bodies, only two of which are easily seen in bright field microscopy. Phytoliths will appear as transparent to translucent isotropic shapes, including circular, oval, cylindrical, dendritic, rectangular, triangular, or lobed. Phytoliths, like other solid amorphous silica components, can appear purplish in plane polarized light. Nonpleochroic, isotropic. Moderate relief.	Isotropic Transparent	colorless purplish dendritic circular triangular lobed
82	Plant	Plant
136	Plant	Plant Macrofossil
96	Plant	Pollen
75	Invertebrate	Radiolarian
66	Algae	Silicoflagellate
84	Invertebrate	Sponge	Transparent colorless. Moderately high relief. Isotropic. Sponge spicules (amorphous silica structural elements) are most often large (~0.1 to >1 mm), needle-like, gently curved, sometimes with a medial groove or tube. Ends may be pointed or rounded. Surface is frequently smooth and unornamented, but may be covered with prominent bumps. Distinguished from diatoms by size, lack of ornamentation, robustness/solidness. Marine forms may be more complex, tri- or tetraxial. Marine forms may less commonly be calcareous instead of siliceous.	Acicular Needle-like Curved Isotropic Large	spicule groove bumpy
162	Plant	Thick Plant Matter

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