Coccoid

Last updated March 20, 2019

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
Chlorococcales is an order of green algae in the class Chlorophyceae. Individual specimens are sometimes found in soil, but mostly in fresh and marine waters. The order contains approximately 780 species.
The dinoflagellates are a classification subgroup of algae. They are a large group of flagellate eukaryotes that constitute the phylum Dinoflagellata. Most are marine plankton, but they also are common in freshwater habitats. Their populations are distributed depending on sea surface temperature, salinity, or depth. Many dinoflagellates are known to be photosynthetic, but a large fraction of these are in fact mixotrophic, combining photosynthesis with ingestion of prey (phagotrophy). In terms of number of species, dinoflagellates are one of the largest groups of marine eukaryotes, although this group is substantially smaller than diatoms. Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other dinoflagellates are unpigmented predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic. Some dinoflagellates produce resting stages, called dinoflagellate cysts or dinocysts, as part of their lifecycles.
Symbiodinium is a genus that encompasses the largest and most prevalent group of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates known. These unicellular algae commonly reside in the endoderm of tropical cnidarians such as corals, sea anemones, and jellyfish, where the products of their photosynthetic processing are exchanged in the host for inorganic molecules. They are also harbored by various species of sponge, flatworms, mollusks such as the giant clams, foraminifera (soritids), and some ciliates. Generally, these dinoflagellates enter the host cell through phagocytosis, persist as intracellular symbionts, reproduce, and disperse to the environment. The exception is in most mollusks, where Symbiodinium are intercellular. Cnidarians that are associated with Symbiodinium occur mostly in warm oligotrophic (nutrient-poor), marine environments where they are often the dominant constituents of benthic communities. These dinoflagellates are therefore among the most abundant eukaryotic microbes found in coral reef ecosystems.
the superfamily Coccoidea of scale insects
- the Coccidae family within the Coccoidea

Bacteria are a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep portions of Earth's crust. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been characterised, and only about half of the bacterial phyla have species that can be grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology.

A coccus is any bacterium or archaeon that has a spherical, ovoid, or generally round shape. It is one of the three distinct bacterial shapes, the other two being bacillus (rod-shaped) and spiral-shaped cells.

The green algae are a large, informal grouping of algae consisting of the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta, which are now placed in separate divisions, as well as the potentially more basal Mesostigmatophyceae, Chlorokybophyceae and Spirotaenia.

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The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. They comprise the superfamily Coccoidea, previously placed in the now obsolete group called "Homoptera". There are about 8,000 described species of scale insects.

Emiliania huxleyi is a species of coccolithophore found in almost all ocean ecosystems from the equator to sub-polar regions, and from nutrient rich upwelling zones to nutrient poor oligotrophic waters. It is one of thousands of different photosynthetic plankton that freely drift in the euphotic zone of the ocean, forming the basis of virtually all marine food webs. It is studied for the extensive blooms it forms in nutrient-depleted waters after the reformation of the summer thermocline. Like other coccolithophores, E. huxleyi is a single-celled phytoplankton covered with uniquely ornamented calcite disks called coccoliths. Individual coccoliths are abundant in marine sediments although complete coccospheres are more unusual. In the case of E. huxleyi, not only the shell, but also the soft part of the organism may be recorded in sediments. It produces a group of chemical compounds that are very resistant to decomposition. These chemical compounds, known as alkenones, can be found in marine sediments long after other soft parts of the organisms have decomposed. Alkenones are most commonly used by earth scientists as a means to estimate past sea surface temperatures.

The Coccidae are a family of scale insects belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea. They are commonly known as soft scales, wax scales or tortoise scales. The females are flat with elongated oval bodies and a smooth integument which may be covered with wax. In some genera they possess legs but in others, they do not, and the antennae may be shortened or missing. The males may be alate or apterous.

Bacteria are classified by direct examination with the light microscope according to their morphology and arrangement.

Non-fermenters are a taxonomically heterogeneous group of bacteria of the division Proteobacteria that cannot catabolize glucose, and are thus unable to ferment. This does not necessarily exclude that species can catabolize other sugars or have anaerobiosis like fermenting bacteria.

Coccus is a genus of scale insects in the family Coccidae. It includes species such as Coccus viridis, a major pest of coffee. The type species is Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus.

Electromyrmococcus is an extinct genus of mealybug in the Pseudococcidae subfamily Rhizoecinae. The genus currently contains three species, all from the early Miocene, Burdigalian stage, Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.

Coccus viridis is a soft scale insect in the family Coccidae with a wide host range. It is commonly known as green scale or sometimes coffee green scale because it is a major pest of coffee crops throughout the world.

Halimococcidae is a family of scale insects in the order Hemiptera. Members of the family are commonly known as pupillarial palm scales or halimococcids. Most species are found on the leaves of palm trees where they suck sap, but some species occur on Pandanus. The family was named by Brown and McKenzie in 1962 and includes five known genera and twenty one species.

Phenacoleachiidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the phenacoleachiids. They are found only in the South Island of New Zealand, and on certain offshore islands. There are two species in a single genus.

Apiomorpha is a genus of scale insect that induces galls on species of Eucalyptus. Galls are initiated by first-instar nymphs (crawlers) on new plant growth and, when mature, the galls exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. Those induced by females are among the largest and most spectacular of arthropod-induced galls whereas those of males are small and most are tubular. Apiomorpha is known only from Australia and New Guinea although its host, Eucalyptus, has a wider distribution into Indonesia as well.

Cylindrococcus is a genus of scale insects that induces galls on plants of the genus Allocasuarina. There are two described species of Cylindrococcus, both of which occur only in Australia. The galls of adult females look somewhat similar to the cone-like "fruit" of the host plant and might be mistaken for such.

Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals, a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal. The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main source of the red dye carmine. It has reportedly been used for this purpose in the Americas since the 10th century. Genus Dactylopius is also important because several species have been used as agents of biological pest control, and because several are known as invasive species.

Burmacoccus is an extinct genus of scale insect in the extinct monotypic family Burmacoccidae, containing a single species, Burmacoccus danyi. The genus is solely known from the Albian – Cenomanian Burmese amber deposits.

Albicoccus is an extinct genus of scale insect in the extinct monotypic family Albicoccidae, containing a single species, Albicoccus dimai. The genus is solely known from the Albian - Cenomanian Burmese amber deposits.

Trabutina mannipara, or mana scale, is a species of mealybug found in the Middle East and southern Europe. It is the most well-known of the five species in the genus Trabutina, of which it is the type species, due to its association with the biblical story of manna. T. mannipara feeds parasitically on tamarisk trees, and excretes a sweet substance which is sometimes collected for human consumption. Obsolete terms for it include Coccus manniparus and Trabutina palestina. This species can be found in the Sinai and Iraq.

Coccoid

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