Home / Greens /Colonies / Non-flagellated / Apiocystis
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Name derivation:
“Pear-shaped pouch” -- Pear Apio- pouch –cystis
Classification:
Apiocystis Nägeli 1849; 2 of 5 species descriptions are currently accepted taxonomically (Guiry and Guiry 2013). Order Chlamydomonadales; Family Tetrasporaceae
Morphology:
Colony is in a sac shaped sheath where individual cells are scattered or grouped into rings of four or eight cells. Individual cells are mostly spherical but can be egg shaped with a pair of apical pseudoflagella 4x to 8x cell diameter. Flagellated ‘swarmers’ are formed by either isogamous sexual or asexual reproduction (Ibid.).
Similar genera:
Tetraspora
Habitat:
Freshwater. Widely distributed.
References:
Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 10 September 2013. Nägeli, C. 1849. Gattungen einzelliger Algen, physiologisch und systematisch bearbeitet. Neue Denkschriften der Allg. Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für die Gesammten Naturwissenschaften 10(7): i-viii, 1-139, pls I-VIII.