Radiococcus

Radiococcus
Radiococcus nimbatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Archaeplastida
Clade: Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Sphaeropleales
Family: Radiococcaceae
Genus: Radiococcus
Schmidle, 1902
Type species
Radiococcus nimbatus
(De Wildeman) Schmidle
Species

Radiococcus is a genus of green algae in the family Radiococcaceae. It is found in the plankton of freshwater habitats.

Radiococcus consists of colonies of cells embedded in a mucilage; the mucilage may have radial striations. Cells are 3–15 μm in diameter, often grouped into tetrads or arranged in a ring. The cell walls are mostly smooth, although in some species they may be warty (verrucose). Cells have a single nucleus and a single parietal chloroplast with one pyrenoid.

Radiococcus reproduces asexually via the formation of autospores. Four to eight autospores are produced per sporangium; they are released when the mother cell wall fragments. Cell wall fragments remain in the mucilage for some time before dissolving.

Radiococcus is considered an ill-defined genus in need of taxonomic revision. It is similar to Planktosphaeria, which has multiple chloroplasts per cell, and Korschpalmella, which lacks pyrenoids.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Radiococcus Schmidle, 1902". AlgaeBase. University of Galway. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  2. ↑ See the NCBI webpage on Radiococcus. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  3. ↑ John, David M.; Whitton, Brian A.; Brook, Alan J. (2021). The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 896. doi:10.1017/CHOL9781108784122. ISBN 978-1-108-78412-2.
  4. ↑ Kostikov, I.; Darienko, T.; Lukešová, A.; Hoffmann, L. (2002). "Revision of the classification system of Radiococcaceae Fott ex Komárek (except the subfamily Dictyochlorelloideae) (Chlorophyta)". Archiv für Hydrobiologie Supplement. 104: 23–58.