Characiaceae

Summary

Characiaceae is a family of green algae in the order Sphaeropleales.[1] It contains epiphytic or planktonic algae that are unicellular or colonial. The cells are heteropolar, with basal and apical ends having different shapes.[2] The daughter cells are often retained in the cell wall of the old mother cell, whose cell wall becomes gelatinized.[3]

Characiaceae
Characium hookeri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
(unranked): Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Sphaeropleales
Family: Characiaceae
(Nägeli) Wittrock, 1872[1]
Genera

See text.

Taxonomy edit

The taxonomy of Characiaceae has undergone significant revision in the last century. Characiaceae once included genera such as Schroederia, but that circumscription made the family polyphyletic, so many of those genera have been transferred to other families. However, the taxonomic affiliation of the type species of the genus Characium (C. sieboldii) is still unclear, which necessitates further revision of the family.[4]

As of March 2022, AlgaeBase accepted the following genera:[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Characiaceae". AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  2. ^ Komárek, J.; Fott, B. (1983). Chlorophyceae (Grünalgen), Ordnung Chlorococcales. Das Phytoplankton des Süßwassers (in German). E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. p. 1044.
  3. ^ Wujek, Daniel E. (2016). "The chlorococcalean Green Alga Hydrianum Rabenhorst from North America (Kansas and Michigan)". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 119: 105–108. doi:10.1660/062.119.0115. S2CID 88296891.
  4. ^ Fučíková, Karolina; Lewis, Paul O.; Lewis, Louise A. (2014). "Putting incertae sedis taxa in their place: A proposal for ten new families and three new genera in Sphaeropleales (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta)". Journal of Phycology. 50 (1): 14–25. doi:10.1111/jpy.12118. PMID 26988005. S2CID 24770288.