A new diatom genus and species, Fascinorbis illustris, was recently discovered and reported in the journal Diatom Research by researchers from Indiana State University, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the University of Arkansas. Diatoms are a common type of microscopic algae characterized by having shells made of glass. They’ve been around for almost 200 million years and—think diatoms aren’t important?—the oxygen they produce with their photosynthesis is responsible for every fourth or fifth breath you take!