Cells joined in long chains, straight or slightly curved. In girdle view the cells appear cylindrical, while in valve view they appear circular. The space between two cells (the inter-cellular aperture) is narrow but distinct. Each cell has 12-25 setae arranged in a radial pattern emanating from the valve margin. The internal setae (between cells in the chain) lie in the valvar plane and are perpendicular to the axis of the chain. The setae of two adjacent cells bond at a certain distance from the base and then fork in the distal section. The terminal setae of the two end cells of the chain are umbrella-shaped and are thicker than the internal ones; they have small spines arranged in a spiral. There are numerous small chloroplasts.

Marine, typical of temperate waters.

Distribution: Europe: Croatia (Vilicic et al., 2009), Romania (Caraus, 2002). Atlantic Ocean: Canary Islands (Gil-Rodríguez et al., 2003). North America: Nova Scotia (Kim, Garbary and McLachlan, 2004), Rhode Island (Thamatrakoln et al., 2006).

The algae of Romania., Studii si Cercetari, Universitatea Bacau, Biologie 7, Caraus I., 2002, 1-694

Phytoplankton dynamics in Pomquet Harbour, Nova Scotia: a lagoon in the southern Gulf of St., Lawrence. Phycologia 43, Kim K.Y., Garbary D.J., McLachlan J.L., 2004, 311-328.

Comparative sequence analysis of diatom silicon transporters: toward a mechanistic model of silicon transport., Journal of Phycology 42:, Thamatrakoln K., Alverson A.J., Hildebrand M., 2006, 822-834

Composition and annual cycle of phytoplankton assemblages in the northeastern Adriatic Sea., Botanica Marina 52(4), Vilicic, Djakovac, Buric, Z. & Bosak, 2009, 291-305.

Proctoctista. In: Lista de especies marinas de Canarias (algas, hongos, plantas y animales). (Moro, L., Martín, J.L., Garrido, M.J. & Izquierdo, I. Eds), Las Palmas: Consejería de Política Territorial y Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Canarias., Gil-Rodríguez M.C., Haroun R., Ojeda Rodríguez A., Berecibar Zugasti E., Domínguez Santana P., Herrera Morán B., 2003, 5 - 30