Apart from the bacteria, single celled animals and plants are the most prolific on earth, inhabiting every aquatic niche on the planet. Those in the surface waters of the oceans are amongst the most beautiful. Many resemble exquisite jewellery, glassware, cosmic constellations, nebulae and even galactic explosions. The plant versions capture sunlight and give off oxygen. The animal versions devour all sorts of living and dead animals and plants in the plankton community. Many form whole beaches, geological strata, reefs, oozes and sediments. Many are crucial in helping geologists date the planet’s great prehistoric epochs.

All images, unless otherwise specified, are approximately x1000 – 5000.