Family: Unicells or colonies of non-fixed number of cells; cell body variable in shape; one or more chloroplasts variable in shape; asexual reproduction by autospore or autocoenobium (Illustrations of The Japanese Fresh-water Algae, 1977).
Genus: Colony of 4, 8 or 16 cells, within a gelatinous sheath, which is spherical or ellipsoidal in shape; cell body broad crescent in shape, both ends rounded; a single chloroplast plate-like in shape, with a pyrenoid (Guide book to the "Photomicrographs of the Freshwater Algae", 1998).

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N. lunatum cell 18-20 x 6-7 μm Omine-numa Tsukiyono Gunma, 2003	N. lunatum cell 22 x 7 μm Hasuda Saitama, 2002
N. lunatum ? cell μm Kannon-numa 1 Shimogo Fukushima, 2008	N. lunatum ? cell μm Kannon-numa 2 Shimogo Fukushima, 2008	N. lunatum ? cell μm Kannon-numa 11 Shimogo Fukushima, 2008
N. agardhianum cell 9 x 5 μm Koshigaya Saitama, 2001	Nephrocytium or Oocystis ? cell 12 x 8 μm Japan, 1998	N. shilleri or N. lunatum ? 16 x 6 μm Kannon-numa Shimogo Fukushima, 2005	N. shilleri or N. lunatum ? cell 19 x 4-8 μm Sue-machi Fukuoka, 2001
N. shilleri 15 x 4.5 μm Kannon-numa Shimogo Fukushima, 2005	N. shilleri μm Kannon-numa 2 Shimogo Fukushima, 2008	N. shilleri μm Kannon-numa 10 Shimogo Fukushima, 2008	N. shilleri cell x 4 μm Nagaike park Hachioji Tokyo, 2005
N. shilleri μm Lake Shirakaba Tateshina & Chino Nagano, 2007	N. shilleri or N. lunatum ? cell x 5 μm water reservoir near Yamaguchi Univ. near Yamaguchi, 2004
Nephrocytium or Oocystis ? cell 7.5 x 6 μm Ueno Tokyo, 2001

Similar genus -->> Oocystis;

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