Aegagropila
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| Aegagropila | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Aegagropila linnaei in Lake Akan in Japan | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Ulvophyceae |
| Order: | Cladophorales |
| Family: | Pithophoraceae |
| Genus: | Aegagropila Kützing |
| Type species | |
| Aegagropila brownii (Dillwyn) Kützing[1] | |
| Species | |
Aegagropila is a genus of green algae in the family Pithophoraceae.[1] It is found in freshwater habitats in across the Northern Hemisphere.[2]
Aegagropila consists of densely branched, uniseriate filaments, forming spherical aggregates, solid or hollow balls, or tufts and cushions attached to a substrate. Branches grow off the side (laterally) or just below the tip of the cell (subterminally); older cells may produce a second or third branch. Older cells are often irregularly club-shaped, with many branches. Basal poles of cells may produce rhizoids that can attach to other filaments. Each chloroplast has many pyrenoids.[2]
Aegagropila is morphologically similar to, and sometimes indistinguishable from the genus Aegagropilopsis.[2]
