| Stauridium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stauridium tetras | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Chlorophyceae |
| Order: | Sphaeropleales |
| Family: | Hydrodictyaceae |
| Genus: | Stauridium Corda, 1839 |
| Type species | |
| Stauridium tetras (Ehrenberg) E.Hegewald [1] | |
| Species [2] | |
Stauridium is a genus of green algae in the family Hydrodictyaceae. [3] It is very common in freshwater regions throughout the world. [4]
Stauridium forms flat colonies, termed coenobia, of cells in powers of two, usually four, eight, or 16. Coenobia are disc-shaped in outline, composed of cells laid contiguously next to each other with no spaces in between cells. The marginal cells are trapezoidal, with (in S. tetras ) or without (in S. privum) a V-shaped incision in the middle. [4] The cell wall is smooth or covered in granules, warts, or ridges. Cells have one chloroplast filling the cell, each with a single pyrenoid. [5]
Species of Stauridium have thin cell walls, so they tend not to preserve well in sediments. [6]
Although Stauridium was first described by August Carl Joseph Corda in 1839, for most of its history it was considered to be a synonym of Pediastrum . In 2005, molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that Pediastrum sensu lato was paraphyletic with respect to Hydrodictyon . Therefore, Pediastrum was split up into several genera, including Stauridium. [1]
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