Coccomyxaceae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, in the class

Trebouxiophyceae The Trebouxiophyceae, also known as trebouxiophytes, are a class of green algae, in the division Chlorophyta. Members of this class are single-celled, colonial, or multicellular and are found in freshwater, terrestrial or marine habitats worldwid ...

. Members of the family Coccomyxaceae are microscopic algae found often in colonies surrounded by mucilage. Sexual reproduction has not been observed in this family. Cells multiply by simple vegetative division, sometimes by forming

autospore Autospores are a type of spores that are produced by algae to enable asexual reproduction and spread. They are non-motile and non-Flagellated cell, flagellated Aplanospore, aplanospores that are generated within a parent cell and have the same sha ...

s, but not

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. The genus ''Paradoxia'' produces zoospores; its placement in Coccomyxaceae is apparently due to a strain labeled as ''Paradoxia multiseta'' in the UTEX-Austin

culture collection A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are foundational and basic diagn ...

which was found to have a close

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

relationship to ''

Coccomyxa ''Coccomyxa'' is a genus of green algae in the family Coccomyxaceae. This genus is defined by their small, elliptical to spherical shape, and the presence of a simple parietal chloroplast. These features, along with their occurrence in various l ...

''. However, the morphology of the strain (having spherical cells) does not appear to match that of ''Paradoxia'', making the identity suspect.

References

External links

AlgaTerra database

Index Nominum Genericorum
Trebouxiophyceae families Trebouxiophyceae Enigmatic algae taxa {{Green algae-stub