Quadrigula Explained

Quadrigula is a genus of green algae in the family Selenastraceae.[1] It is commonly found in freshwater habitats as phytoplankton.

Description

Quadrigula forms colonies of two, four, or cells within a common mucilaginous envelope. Cells are cigar-shaped, 7 to 45 μm long and 1 to 8 μm wide. The cells are bundled such that the long axes of cells are parallel to each other. The tips of the cells are rounded or acutely pointed. Cells contain a single nucleus and one parietal chloroplast; the chloroplast may or may not contain a pyrenoid.[2]

Species identification relies on details of the cell size and shape.

Notes and References

  1. See the NCBI webpage on Quadrigula. Data extracted from the Web site: NCBI taxonomy resources . . 2007-03-19.
  2. Book: John D.. Wehr. Robert G.. Sheath. J. Patrick. Kociolek . 2014 . 2 . Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification . Shubert. Elliot. Gärtner . Georg . Chapter 7. Nonmotile Coccoid and Colonial Green Algae . Elsevier Inc. . 978-0-12-385876-4 .