Navicula is a genus of boat-shaped diatom algae, comprising over 1,200 species.[1] Navicula is Latin for "small ship", and also a term in English for a boat-shaped incense-holder.[2]
Diatoms — eukaryotic, primarily aquatic, single-celled photosynthetic organisms — play an important role in global ecology, producing about a quarter of all the oxygen within Earth's biosphere, often serving as foundational organisms, or keystone species in the food chain of many environments where they provide a staple for the diets of many aquatic species.
Navicula diatoms are known for their ability to creep about on each other and on hard surfaces such as microscope slides.[3][4][5][6] It is thought[by whom?] that around the outside of the navicula's shell is a girdle of protoplasm that can flow and thus act as a tank track.[citation needed]