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Coccus facts for kids

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Arrangement of cocci bacteria en
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Staphylococcus bacteria

A coccus (plural cocci) is any bacterium that has a spherical, ovoid, or generally round shape. It is one of the three distinct bacterial shapes, the other two being bacillus (rod-shaped) and spiral-shaped cells.

Cocci is an English loanword of a modern or neo-Latin noun, which in turn stems from the Greek masculine noun kokkos (κόκκος) meaning "berry".

Some examples of cocci are Abiotrophia, Enterococcus, Neisseria, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus.

Related pages

  • Bacillus (one of the other two types of bacteria shapes)
  • Spirillum (the other shape of bacteria)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Coco (bacteria) para niños

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