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Diatoms accumulate silica to a ratio of about five atom
percent, or one silicon atom for any twenty other atoms. Silicon is a very common earth
element and other animals may also have some silicon content. But vertebrates typically
have only about 0.001 atom %. A diatom, including its cell wall has 5000 times as much!
To the Introduction.
To the Silica page.
John Becker's diatoms pages copyright Becker 1996. |