Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Basichlamys

Basichlamys is a monotypic genus of colonial green algae in the family Tetrabaenaceae. The sole species is Basichlamys sacculifera. It is rare, but cosmopolitan in freshwaters.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
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Basichlamys
Basichlamys sacculifera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Chlorophyceae
Order: Chlamydomonadales
Family: Tetrabaenaceae
Genus: Basichlamys
Skuja, 1956
Species:
B. sacculifera
Binomial name
Basichlamys sacculifera
(Scherffel) Skuja
Synonyms

Basichlamys is a monotypic genus of colonial green algae in the family Tetrabaenaceae.1 The sole species is Basichlamys sacculifera. It is rare, but cosmopolitan in freshwaters.2

Basichlamys sacculifera consists of four-celled colonies of cells in a square, which are attached by their bases to a parental cellular sheath or sac. The cells are ovoid and asymmetrical, and each have two flagella, two contractile vacuoles, and a cup-shaped chloroplast containing a pyrenoid and a stigma.3 The ultrastructure of the cell wall is similar to those of Tetrabaena and Gonium.4 Its overall morphology is most similar to Tetrabaena, but the cells are not connected to each other directly but are instead connected by a common cellular sheath.3

Asexual reproduction occurs by autocolony formation,2 or occasionally akinetes or hypnospores (dormant cells).3 Sexual reproduction is isogamous and results in walled aplanozygotes.2 The zygote walls are reticulate, a feature that it shares with Tetrabaena.4

References

References

  1. See the NCBI webpage on Basichlamys. Data extracted from the "NCBI taxonomy resources". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  2. Guiry, M.D.; Guiry, G.M. "Basichlamys Skuja, 1956". AlgaeBase. University of Galway. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  3. Nakada, Takashi; Nozaki, Hisayoshi (2014). "Chapter 6. Flagellate Green Algae". In Wehr, John D.; Sheath, Robert G.; Kociolek, J. Patrick (eds.). Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification (2 ed.). Elsevier Inc. pp. 265–313. ISBN 978-0-12-385876-4.
  4. Nozaki, H.; Itoh, M.; Watanabe, M.M.; Kuroiwa, T. (1996). "Ultrastructure of the vegetative colonies and systematic position of Basichlamys (Volvocales, Chlorophyta)". European Journal of Phycology. 31 (1): 67–72. Bibcode:1996EJPhy..31...67N. doi:10.1080/09670269600651211a.
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