Algae
Scientists' concepts of which organisms should be termed algae (alga, singular; algae, plural; algal, adjective) have changed radically over the past two centuries. The term algae originally referred to almost all aquatic, photosynthetic organisms. But, as more has been learned about the evolutionary
| EUKARYOTIC ALGAE | | | | |
| Division | Common Name | Pigments | Habitats | General Morphology |
| Glaucophyta | | Chlorophyll a | Freshwater | Unicellular flagellates |
| | Phycocyanin | | |
| Rhodophyta | Red algae | Chlorophyll a | Mostly marine | Unicells, filaments, thalli; no flagellated stages; some calcified, some mucilaginous |
| | Phycoerythrin | | |
| | Phycocyanin | | |
| Cryptophyta | Cryptomonads | Chlorophyll a | Marine and freshwater | Mostly unicells |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Phycocyanin | | |
| | Phycoerythrin | | |
| Heterokontophyta | | | | |
| (Ochrophyta) | | | | |
| Chrysophyceae | Golden brown algae | Chlorophyll a | Freshwater | Mostly unicells or colonies; biflagellate |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Fucoxanthin | | |
| Xanthophyceae Chlorophyll | | Chlorophyll a | Mostly freshwater and terrestrial; some marine | Coccoid, flagellate, or amoeboid unicells; colonies, uni- and multinucleate filaments; biflagellate |
| (Tribophyceae) | | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | | | |
| Eustigmatophyceae | | Chlorophyll a | Freshwater and marine | Unicells and coccoid; uni- or biflagellate |
| | Violaxanthin | | |
| Bacillariophyceae | Diatoms | Chlorophyll a | Freshwater and marine | Unicells and colonial coccoids; no flagella |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Fucoxanthin | | |
| Raphidophyceae | | Chlorophyll a | Freshwater and marine | Unicellular biflagellates |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Fucoxanthin | (Marine species only) | |
| | Diadinoxanthin | | |
| | Vaucheriaxanthin | | |
| | Heteroxanthin | | |
| Dictyochophyceae | Silicoflagellates | Chlorophyll a | Marine | Unicellular uniflagellates |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Fucoxanthin | | |
| Phaeophyceae | Brown algae | Chlorophyll a | Marine | Multicellular; reproductive cells biflagellate |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| | Fucoxanthin | | |
| Dinophyta (Pyrrhophyta) | Dinoflagellates | Chlorophyll a | Mostly marine | Mostly unicells, some coccoids and filaments; biflagellate |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| Haptophyta | | Chlorophyll a | Mostly marine | Unicellular biflagellates |
| | Chlorophyll c | | |
| Euglenophyta | Euglenoids | Chlorophyll a | Mostly freshwater | Unicellular uniflagellates |
| | Chlorophyll b | | |
| Chlorophyta | Green algae | Chlorophyll a | | |
| | Chlorophyll b | | |
| Prasinophyceae | | | Marine and freshwater | Unicells; 1-8 flagella |
| Chlorophyceae | | | Mostly freshwater; some terrestrial and marine | Unicellular, coccoid, or colonial flagellates; multicellular or multinucleate filaments; bi- or tetraflagellate |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| Ulvophyceae | | | Marine or subaerial | Uni- or multicellular or multinucleate filaments; reproductive cells bi-or tetraflagellate |
| | | | |
| Pleurastrophyceae | | | Subaerial | Coccoid or filament; reproductive cells biflagellate |
| Charophyceae | Stoneworts or brittleworts; desmids | | Fresh or brackish water or subaerial | Coccoid or filament, reproductive cells biflagellate or with no flagella; or multinucleate cells, complex thalli with biflagellate male gametes |
history of algae, which spans at least five hundred million years, the definition has narrowed considerably.
This page contains 201 words.
Algae article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 1,617 words
(approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Algae Article
