Amphikrikos | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Division: | Chlorophyta |
Class: | Trebouxiophyceae |
Order: | Chlorellales |
Family: | Oocystaceae |
Genus: | Amphikrikos Korshikov |
Type species | |
Amphikrikos minutissimus Korshikov | |
Species [1] | |
Amphikrikos is a genus of algae in the family Oocystaceae. [2] It is found in freshwater and has been reported from most continents. [1]
Amphikrikos consists of solitary, planktonic cells about 3–13 μm long and 2–9 μm wide. Cells are barrel-shaped, cylindrical, ellipsoid or broadly oval, with rounded poles. The cell may be surrounded by a thin, structureless mucilage layer. The cell wall is smooth, or covered with dark-brown incrustations on the surface which appear as granules or ribs, mainly near the equator and poles of the cell. Cells contain one (or two) chloroplasts, which is/are parietal and may have or lack a pyrenoid. Asexual reproduction occurs by the formation of typically four (rarely 2 or 8) autospores per cell; these are released through a tear in the mother cell wal. [1] [3]