Coccoid

Look up coccoid in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Coccoid means shaped like or resembling a coccus, that is, spherical.
The noun coccoid or coccoids may refer to:

• a level of organization, characterized by unicellular, non-flagellated, non-amoeboid organisms, with a definite shape, in general but not always ovoid. It is found in many groups, e.g.:
  • some bacteria, also called cocci (pl. of coccus)
  • some green algae, like the desmids and the former Chlorococcales (now in several orders within the division Chlorophyta)
  • some dinoflagellates, notably Symbiodinium
  • some chrysophytes
  • some xanthophytes
  • the diatoms
• the superfamily Coccoidea of scale insects
  • the Coccidae family within the Coccoidea

See also

• Coccolite, a form of the mineral diopside
• Coccolithophore, a class of phytoplankton (alga)
• Coccolith, a platelet formed by coccolithophore, found in chalk