Pandorina morum
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| Pandorina morum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Clade: | Viridiplantae |
| Division: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Chlorophyceae |
| Order: | Chlamydomonadales |
| Family: | Volvocaceae |
| Genus: | Pandorina |
| Species: | P. morum |
| Binomial name | |
| Pandorina morum (O.F.Müller) Bory[1] | |
Pandorina morum is a species of green algae in the family Volvocaceae, and is the type species of the genus Pandorina.[1]
It is a freshwater species with a cosmopolitan distribution, and is common in lowland rivers, lakes, ponds, and ditches with circumneutral pH. It sometimes forms blooms of up to a thousand cells per mL.[2]
Pandorina morum was first described by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1786, who called it Volvox morum. Later in 1826, Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent transferred it to its own genus, calling it Pandorina.[1] The way the daughter colonies break out of the old parental layers reminded Bory of Pandora's box and therefore he named it Pandorina, with "-ina" being a French diminutive.[3]
The specific epithet "morum" likely refers to a mulberry or blackberry fruit, which Pandorina morum resembles. Müller, naming his organism Volvox morum, most likely named the organism "morum" as a Latin noun in apposition. When Bory transferred Volvox morum to Pandorina, he named it Pandorina mora, appearing to have interpreted "morum/mora" as an adjective. This is most likely in error, since "morum/mora" means silly or foolish.[1]