Charales

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Stoneworts
CharaGlobularis.jpg
Chara globularis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
(unranked): Viridiplantae
(unranked): Charophyta
Class: Charophyceae
Order: Charales
Families [1]

See text

Charales is an order of freshwater green algae in the division Charophyta, class Charophyceae, commonly known as stoneworts. Depending on the treatment of the genus Nitellopsis , living (extant) species are placed into either one family (Characeae) or two (Characeae and Feistiellaceae). Further families are used for fossil members of the order. Linnaeus established the genus Chara in 1753.

Contents

Submerged meadow of Chara vulgaris Chara1.jpg
Submerged meadow of Chara vulgaris
Lime crust on Chara sp. in a spring pond in Germany Chara2.jpg
Lime crust on Chara sp. in a spring pond in Germany

Taxonomy

The higher level classification of green algae was unsettled as of February 2022. [2] AlgaeBase places Charales within the class Charophyceae and its circumscription of the division Charophyta. [1]

Families

The number of families and their division into genera varies. As of February 2022, AlgaeBase accepts two families containing some extant species and four families containing only fossil species: [1]

AlgaeBase places the genus Nitellopsis , which has both extant and extinct species, in the family Feistiellaceae. [4] Other sources place Nitellopsis in the family Characeae, [5] with Feistiellaceae containing only fossil species, [6] so that all extant species are in the family Characeae. The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera accepts a further three extinct families: [3]

Fossil record

Body fossils of representatives of the order Charales do exist, but are rare. [7] The fossil record of the Charales consists mostly of gyrogonites, that is, calcified fructifications or, more exactly, calcified spiral cells surrounding the oospores. It may be noted that the gyrogonites are studied by palaeontologists, but not often destroyed (using acids) during neontological research to liberate the oospores. [8]

The oldest known representative of the Charales is Eochara wickendeniiChoquette from the Middle Devonian. [9] The family Characeae starts dominating the fossil assemblages in the Paleogene or perhaps already in the Late Cretaceous. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorophyta</span> Phylum of green algae

Chlorophyta is a taxon of green algae informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses, so care is needed to determine the use by a particular author. In older classification systems, it is a highly paraphyletic group of all the green algae within the green plants (Viridiplantae) and thus includes about 7,000 species of mostly aquatic photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. In newer classifications, it is the sister clade of the streptophytes/charophytes. The clade Streptophyta consists of the Charophyta in which the Embryophyta emerged. In this latter sense the Chlorophyta includes only about 4,300 species. About 90% of all known species live in freshwater. Like the land plants, green algae contain chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b and store food as starch in their plastids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genus</span> Taxonomic rank directly above species

Genus is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streptophyta</span> Clade consisting of the charophyte algae and land plants

Streptophyta, informally the streptophytes, is a clade of plants. The composition of the clade varies considerably between authors, but the definition employed here includes land plants and all green algae except the Chlorophyta and the more basal Prasinodermophyta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charophyta</span> Phylum of algae

Charophyta is a group of freshwater green algae, called charophytes, sometimes treated as a division, yet also as a superdivision or an unranked clade. The terrestrial plants, the Embryophyta emerged deep within Charophyta, possibly from terrestrial unicellular charophytes, with the class Zygnematophyceae as a sister group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Characeae</span> A family of freshwater green algae

Characeae is a family of freshwater green algae in the order Charales, commonly known as stoneworts. They are also known as brittleworts or skunkweed, from the fragility of their lime-encrusted stems, and from the foul odor these produce when stepped on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charophyceae</span> Class of algae

Charophyceae is a class of charophyte green algae. AlgaeBase places it in division Charophyta. Extant (living) species are placed in a single order Charales, commonly known as "stoneworts" and "brittleworts". Fossil members of the class may be placed in separate orders, e.g. Sycidiales and Trochiliscales.

The Tetrasporales are a formerly recognized order of green algae, specifically the Chlorophyceae, now included in Chlamydomonadales. AlgaeBase places Tetraspora and Tetrasporaceae in Chlamydomonadales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Udoteaceae</span> Family of algae

Udoteaceae is a family of green algae, in the order Bryopsidales.

<i>Hormotila</i> Genus of algae

Hormotila is a genus of green algae in the family Chaetophoraceae.

<i>Chara</i> (alga) Genus of green algae

Chara is a genus of charophyte green algae in the family Characeae. They are multicellular and superficially resemble land plants because of stem-like and leaf-like structures. They are found in freshwater, particularly in limestone areas throughout the northern temperate zone, where they grow submerged, attached to the muddy bottom. They prefer less oxygenated and hard water and are not found in waters where mosquito larvae are present. They are covered with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) deposits and are commonly known as stoneworts. Cyanobacteria have been found growing as epiphytes on the surfaces of Chara, where they may be involved in fixing nitrogen, which is important to plant nutrition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera</span> Taxonomic database

The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) is a taxonomic database which attempts to cover published genus names for all domains of life, from 1758 in zoology up to the present, arranged in a single, internally consistent taxonomic hierarchy, for the benefit of Biodiversity Informatics initiatives plus general users of biodiversity (taxonomic) information. In addition to containing just over 500,000 published genus name instances as at May 2023, the database holds over 1.7 million species names, although this component of the data is not maintained in as current or complete state as the genus-level holdings. IRMNG can be queried online for access to the latest version of the dataset and is also made available as periodic snapshots or data dumps for import/upload into other systems as desired. The database was commenced in 2006 at the then CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research in Australia and, since 2016, has been hosted at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Belgium.

<i>Nitellopsis</i> Genus of green algae

Nitellopsis is a genus of charophyte green algae. Some sources, including AlgaeBase, place it in the family Feistiellaceae. Others place it in the family Characeae.

<i>Crouania</i> Genus of algae

Crouania is a genus of red algae (Rhodophyta) in the Callithamniaceae family. The name of the genus honours the French born Crouan brothers, Pierre-Louis Crouan and Hippolyte-Marie Crouan. It was first described by Jacob Georg Agardh in 1842, and the type species is Crouania attenuata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callithamniaceae</span> Family of algae

Callithamniaceae is a family of red algae (Rhodophyta) in the order Ceramiales. The family was first described by Friedrich Traugott Kützing in 1843.

<i>Actinoptychus</i> Genus of diatoms

Actinoptychus is a genus of diatoms belonging to the family Heliopeltaceae.

Sycidiales is an order of fossil charophyte green algae. The reproductive structures in Sycidales have a calcified cover, called a utricle, that is thought to prevent the zygote being desiccated. Other Paleozoic families lack this cover, as do modern charophytes. Fossils of the family Sycidiaceae are found over the longest time span, from the Silurian to the Carboniferous.

Trochiliscaceae is a family of fossil charophyte green algae. It is the only member of the order Trochiliscales. The reproductive structures in Trochiliscaceae have a calcified cover, called a utricle, that is thought to prevent the zygote being desiccated. Other Paleozoic families lack this cover, as do modern charophytes. Fossils of Trochiliscaceae are from the Devonian.

The Characeae or stoneworts are a family of green algae. This is a partial list of species found in Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feistiellaceae</span> Family of algae

Feistiellaceae is a family of freshwater green algae in the order Charales.

<i>Chara globularis</i> Species of alga

Chara globularis is a species of charophyte green algae in the family Characeae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Charales". AlgaeBase . World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. "Classification of algae". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Charales". Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Nitellopsis". AlgaeBase . World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. "Nitellopsis Hy, 1889". Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. "Feistiellaceae Schudack, 1993 †". Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. "Charophytes from the Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian Ranges (Spain) | The Palaeontological Association". www.palass.org. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  8. Soulié-Märsche, Ingeoborg; García, Adriana (2015). "Gyrogonites and oospores, complementary viewpoints to improve the study of the charophytes (Charales)". Aquatic Botany. 120 (A): 7–17. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2014.06.003.
  9. Feist, Monique (coord. author) (2005). Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part B: Protoctista 1, Volume 1: Charophyta. Boulder, Colorado–Lawrence, Kansas: Geological Society of America–University of Kansas. ISBN   0-8137-3002-3.{{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  10. Li, Sha; Wang, Qifei; Zhang, Haichun; Zhang, Yiyi; Wan, Xiaoqiao; Martín-Closas, Carles (1 March 2020). "Filling a gap in the evolution of charophytes during the Turonian to Santonian: Implications for modern physiognomy". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 274: 104154. Bibcode:2020RPaPa.27404154L. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2019.104154. ISSN   0034-6667. S2CID   212792029.

Further reading