A genus of small, star-shaped diatoms (single-celled algae) commonly found in freshwater and marine environments.
From Greek aster 'star' plus -ionella, a diminutive suffix meaning 'small.' The name describes the tiny star-shaped form of these microscopic algae.
Asterionella are invisible to the naked eye, but under a microscope they form gorgeous star-shaped chains, and they're so abundant in freshwater that they can clog water treatment filters—billions of these little stars cause real infrastructure problems!
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