''Chlorotetraedron'' 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 ...
of
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
Neochloridaceae
Neochloridaceae is a family of green algae in the order Sphaeropleales.
Neochloridaceae consists of aquatic, coccoid algae. The cells are spherical or with complex polyhedral shapes. Chloroplasts have pyrenoids that are surrounded by continuous ...
. The name may also be written as ''Chlorotetraëdron''.
It is found as freshwater
plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...
or in soil.
[
The genus was first described under the name of ''Pseudotetraedron'' by Frank J. MacEntee in 1977; however, that name was taken by a genus of algae in the ]Xanthophyceae
Yellow-green algae or the Xanthophyceae (xanthophytes) are an important group of heterokont algae. Most live in fresh water, but some are found in marine and soil habitats. They vary from single-celled flagellates to simple colonial and filamen ...
(the yellow-green algae). Therefore, the genus was renamed to ''Chlorotetraedron''.[ Currently, three species are known.][
]
Description
''Chlorotetraedron'' consists of cells up that are solitary or rarely found in irregular groups. They are microscopic, up to 100 μm in diameter, with a smooth cell wall.[ Cells are generally angular in shape, varying from tetrahedral to polyhedral. In cultivation, the cells may become nearly spherical, but the remnants of the angles are present as papillae. Cells contain one ]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 ...
when young, later having multiple nuclei, and a single parietal 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 ...
. Chloroplasts contain one or several 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 ...
s.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 or