Polycystine radiolarians have encha

Polycystine radiolarians have enchanted scientists with their astonishing beauty ever since they were first discovered in the marine plankton in the nineteenth century. Their tiny skeletons – with often fascinating intricate shapes – have been interesting not only to natural scientists, but also to architects (like A. Gaudi and R. Binet), painters, jewelers, quilters, sculpturers and musicians who have used them as inspiration for their work. With fossil representatives extending continuously back to the Cambrian, i.e. more than 500 million years, few other microorganisms have existed longer and left behind a more detailed evolutionary record than radiolarians.