The first description of a tintinnid species was in Otto Fredrick Müller's "Zoologica Danica" published in 1776.

The first description of a tintinnid species, little more than a mention, was in Otto Fredrick Müller's "Zoologica Danica" published in 1776. The images and full description were published in another edition in 1778. The study of planktonic protists has a very long history, dating back to the origins of classical zoology. Note the specimen in the lower right corner in the final phase of cell division.