''Characiellopsis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

green algae The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...

in the family

Characiaceae Characiaceae is a family of green algae in the order Sphaeropleales. It contains epiphytic or planktonic algae that are unicellular or colonial. The cells are heteropolar, with basal and apical ends having different shapes. The daughter cells are ...

. Two species are known: ''Characiellopsis anophelesii'' and ''Characiellopsis skujae''.

Description

''Characiellopsis'' consists of solitary cells that are elongate and attached to a substrate via a pad of

mucilage Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion, with the direction of their movement always opposite to that of the secretion of ...

. Cells contain a single central

nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

. Young cells contain a single

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

, while older cells contain multiple; each chloroplast has a single

pyrenoid Pyrenoids are sub-cellular phase-separated micro-compartments found in chloroplasts of many algae,Giordano, M., Beardall, J., & Raven, J. A. (2005). CO2 concentrating mechanisms in algae: mechanisms, environmental modulation, and evolution. ''An ...

. Cells reproduce by 2-

flagellated A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores (zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many prot ...

zoospore A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion in aqueous or moist environments. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some protists, bacteria, and fungi to propagate themselves. Certain zoospores are ...

s. These zoospore escape from the tip of the mother cell via a tear in the mother cell's wall.

Species

''Characiellopsis anophelesii'' consists of solitary cells that are attached to mosquito (''

Anopheles ''Anopheles'' () is a genus of mosquito first described by the German entomologist Johann Wilhelm Meigen, J. W. Meigen in 1818, and are known as nail mosquitoes and marsh mosquitoes. Many such mosquitoes are Disease vector, vectors of the paras ...

'') larvae. ''Characiellopsis skujae'' consists of solitary cells that are elongated to ovoid, attached to a surface via a thick stalk. The

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...

s are very thick, and the tip of the cell has a refractive ring-shaped structure visible in

light microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view subjects too small to be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical, el ...

. Cells contain a single

filling the cell, each with a single

. The apical ring structure is very distinctive, and it shares this characteristic with another taxon, ''Characium obtusum''; the two species are probably

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

References

Sphaeropleales genera Sphaeropleales {{Chlorophyceae-stub