Shapes are grouped according to common features. Scroll down to find the shape of the chain or colony you are trying to identify, then click on the grouping.

String of pearls, straight, curled, or spiral

Rods in a filament, straight or curved

Clump of round cells

Rods radiating from a central point

Rectangular cells arranged in zigzag or fan-shaped pattern

Squares or rectangles with projections in a chain

Squares or rectangles in a chain with spines or horns

Rectangles in a chain without spines or horns

Rectangles in a chain separated by long projections

Squashed hamburgers" in a chain

Squares or circles in a chain connected by a thread

Checkerboard square

Irregularly shaped colonies

Squares in a chain with setae