Description of Collosphaeridae
provided by BioPedia
Colonial spumellarid polycystines, each central capsule has a single, thin-walled, spherical or subspherical latticed shell. This is the only group of colonial polycystines with complete latticed shells. Colonies consist of a gelatinous mass in which hundreds to thousands of shells are immersed. The shape of the colony is not species-specific; it may be spherical, ellipsoidal, cylindrical, ribbon-shaped, etc., measuring up to several centimeters in length and a few millimeters in diameter. The siliceous shells are always represented by a single perforated sphere (internal spheres are never present), with or without centrifugal (external) or centripetal (internal) tubular projections and/or spines. Spines (when present) are conical (circular in cross-section).
