Micractinium

Chlorophyceae: Chlorococcales: Micractiniaceae

 Micractinium





Family: Unicellular or Colonial; cell body spherical, with one or more spiny projections; a single cup-shaped chloroplast with a pyrenoid; asexual reproduction by zoospore or autospore; sexual reproduction by fertilization between egg and sperm.
Genus: Colonial; cell body with 2 or more spiny hairs (Illustrations of The Japanese Fresh-water Algae, 1977).

Micractinium, a colony of 4 or 8 cells, cell body 5-7 μm diam. with several needles μm long, x 400, x 640, Uruguay Nov. 1999, photo by Yuuji Tsukii
scale 50 μm scale 100 μm scale 150 μm; x 400 : scale 31 μm scale 63 μm scale 94 μm; x 640

Micractinium pussillum Fresenius var. elegans G. M. Smith: a colony of 4-32 spherical cells, cell body 3-5 μm diam., with 2-3 needle-like projections 20-30 μm long, a single cup-shaped chloroplast with a pyrenoid (Illustrations of The Japanese Fresh-water Algae, 1977).

Please click on images for viewing enlarged.
Copyright 1995-2008 Protist Information Server